
Glass ^gTy^' 
Book: 





«^>t^^ ar^(My{h^^Y^^<^^^^ 



IN MEMORIAM. 



ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR, 



BORN JUNE 6, 1813, DIED MAY 12, 1883 



P R I V A T ELY PRINTED. 



1884. 



SRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 



The suljject of this sketch was liorn in Livennore. 
Androscoggin (then Oxford) County, Jnnc (1, 1813, and 
is a. descendant in the seventh generation from John 
Washhurn, the first of the name who came to America, 
and who was a native of Evesham. Worcestershire. 
England, wlience he emigrated in IGol. He is under- 
stood to have been the Secretary of tlie first council of 
Plymouth in England. He was from that part of the 
coimti'y where the UKist strenuous opposition was made 
to the arbitrary acts of King Charles the 1st, and the 
Puritans were most numerous and unyielding to royal 
authority. From this section the armies of Hampden 
and Cromwell were largely recruited. John "Washburn, 
the pr()genit(.>r of the New England families of that 
name, was of that sterling Puritan stock, and, having 
left England a few yi-ars previous to the commence- 
ment (.)f the great ciA'il war, he was thoroughl}' imbued 
with those ideas of repuldican liberty as opposed to 
kingly premgative, that finally became the ruling prin- 



8 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, .JR. 

cijjles on which not only the government of the New 
Enghmd Colonies, but subsequently of the whole Ameri- 
can union, was founded. 

John Washliurn, on his arrival in this country, first 
settled in Duxbury, Mass., as early as 1632. In 1634, 
he purchased the place known as the " Eagle's Nest," 
whence he removed to Bridgwater about 1665. Israel 
Washburn, the father of the subject of this notice, was 
born in Raynham, Mass., November 18, 1784, and came 
to Maine in 1806, where he was a school teacher for a 
year or two, and then was engaged in ship-building and 
merchandising at White's Landing, now Richmond, on 
the Kennebec I'iver, vmtil 1809, when he removed to 
Livermore, where he resided at the homestead farm of 
the Norlands, until his death, September 1, 1876. He 
was engaged here in trade for many years, and took an 
active interest in town affairs, and was often an officer 
of the town government. Before the separation of 
Maine from Massachusetts in 1820, he represented the 
town for several years in the CTenei'al Court. His 
father and grandfather, the former a soldier of the 
Revolution, were both prominent men in Bristol County. 
Both served repeatedly in the Legislature, or General 
Court as it was called, the younger having Iteen a mem- 
ber of the convention which adopted the first constitu- 
tion of the commonwealth. 



BIOGRAPHY. 9 

Mr. Washl turn's niDther was a daughter of Samuel 
Benjamiu, a native of Watertown, Mass., aud a Lieu- 
tenant in the revolution who served in the army from 
the battle of Lexington to the surrender of Cornwallis 
at Yorktown. and was in both engagements. 

Her mother was Tal>itha Livermore, a relative of 
Elijali Livermore, the founder of tlie town. The chil- 
ilren of Mr. and Mrs. Washlturn, Ijesides the subject of 
this 2'iip'^'^''' "^^'fi'f Algernon Sidney, a merchant and 
banker, wlio recently died at Hallowell ; Elihu B., a. 
representative in Congress for sixteen years from Illi- 
nois, Secretary of State, and Minister Plenijiotentiary 
to France ; (Jadwallader C. a representative in Congress 
from Wisconsin for ten years, Maj(jr General of Volun- 
teers in the civil war, and Governor of the State of 
Wisconsin, who died May 14, 1882 ; Charles A., an 
editor in San Francisco, Minister Resident at Paraguay 
and author of an elaborate and voluminous liistor}' of 
that country and several other works; Samuel B.. a 
Captain of the volunteer navy in the civil war ; William 
D., a manufacturer of Hour and lumber in ?>Iinnesota, 
and representative in Congress from that State; three 
daughters, and a son who died in infancy. 

Israel Washburn. Jr.. was not a college graduate, but 
under [trivate histructors he became a fine classical 
scholar, and from his vouth was a great student of the 



10 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

highest order of English literature. At the age of 
eighteen, he commenced the study of the law, and three 
years later, in October, 1834, was admitted to the Bar. 
He commenced practice as a lawyer in Deceml)er of the 
same year, at Orono, Penobscot County. The lumljer- 
ing interest in that part of the State was then of great 
importance, and Mr. Washljurn very soon entered on 
an extensive and lucrative practice. This continued 
till he was elected to Congress in 1850, with the ex- 
ception of one term in the Legislature of the State in 
1842. 

Mr. Washburn was a memljer of the Wing party, 
and in the year 1848 was first nominated for Congress 
by that party. But as for many years the District in 
which he lived had been almost uniformly Democratic, 
and represented in Congress by Democrats, he at his 
first canvass failed to be elected. But owing to a di- 
vision in the Democratic ranks at the next election 
(1850), Mr. Washburn was chosen by some 1,500 ma- 
jority. At the election two j'ears later, however, he 
was returned by a large majority over all competitors, 
and this majority continued to increase at ever}- subse- 
quent election till 1860, when, having been nominated 
for Governor of the State, he was no longer a candidate 
for Congress ; thus he had l)een chosen to and served in 
the Thirtv-second, Thirtv-third. Thirtv-fourtli. Tlurty- 



BiOGEApny. 11 

fifth and Tliirty-sixtli Congresses. During this peri(jtl 
of service, he was made Chairman of tlie Committee on 
Elections, and was also a memljer of the Committee on 
Waj-s and Means. Pacific Railroad, and of several less 
important committees. It was about the time (Decem- 
ber, 1851) when Mr. Washbui'n first took his seat in 
Congress that the question of slavery extension began 
to overshadow all other questions in national politics. 
and to threaten the destruction of old party ties. Tlie 
existence of slavery, which for a long time the people 
generall}' had ac(pTiesced in as an evil, but an evil to 
be let alone, now began to l)e felt and recognized as a 
wrong and a crime. The speeches and writings of the 
best minds in the country, of those who recognized the 
" higher law," and who held, like Carlyle, that a Lie 
could not always endure, took h(jld on the popidar con- 
science ; the Dragon's teeth of Cadmus were sown broad- 
cast, and when the irrepressilile conflict between freedom 
and slavery arose, the armed men sprang up in legions 
ready for the issue. The deljate in Congress l)ecame 
earnest, acrimonious and Intter to a degree never known 
before. The insolence and arrogance of the plantation 
were carried into the halls of Congress, and by them it 
was attempted t(j overawe tlie members frtjin the free 
States from the expression of the sentiments whieh 
were fast crystalizing into fixed principles throughout 



12 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

the entire North. Concessions to the demands of the 
South had so long been the rule in Congress, that it 
seemed as if the entire government was like to pass 
into the hands of the slaveholders. To many, the 
threat that the South would secede if it could not have 
its way in everything, was enough to bring to its sup- 
port many who at the outset should have defied and 
reljuked their treasonable utterances. 

On the 24th of May, 18-52, Mr. Washliurn delivered 
an elaborate speech in the House, in which, after show- 
ing that the South had for jenrs heen becoming mure 
and niore aggressive in its demands for legislation in 
the interests of slavery and was ol)taining all it de- 
manded, he appealed to those from the South who 
threaten disunion, and to those from the North "who 
encourage them Ijy their timidity and hesitation, in the 
following words : 

" Look at the prospect which disunion opens, you who threaten 
it whenever a vote is lost ; what would you do with our common 
history, and common biography? And the star-lighted banner, 
what would you do with that ? What colors would float over 
us in our border forays across the Potomac^in our incursions 
upon Kentucky ? and under what sign would /icr sons descend 
on the plains of the IJuckeyes ? The stars and stripes could be 
the standard sheet of no divided empire. That flag represents 
the whole country ; it can stand for nothing short of tlie whole ; 
edged by the ocean on either side, the mid-continent its field, 
its stars our miglity lakes, its stripes our magnificent rivers, 



BIOORAPnY. lo 

who will dare to cut that flag in twain, or tear it into rags? 
Come depression, come misrule, come war, come on ' Iliad of 
woes,' if they must come — let us bear them as we nu\y — we 
can survive and outgrow them all. We are still here, here, 
Americans, citizens of the Great Eepublic. But let intestine 
strife prevail, and sectional jealousies be aroused till disunion 
shall come, and no star of Hope shall light the prospect that 
will lie before us. 'The blasted leaves of autumn may be re- 
newed by the returning spring, the cerements of the grave shall 
burst and earth give up' her dead,' but let this union be once 
destroyed and there is no power that can restore it, no heat that 
can its 'light relume.' National death is followed liy no resur- 
rection." 

Mr. Waslilmni niaile many otlitT .s])et'(.'lies in ('(jiihtc'ss 
during' his l(jno- service in that hody, all (_)f whicli 
evinced a tliorungh knowledge of the subject discussed : 
and as a parliamentarian and debater he was hardly 
surpassed l)y any member on the floor. He was always 
in the van of the op})osition to the extension of slavery, 
wliicli by this time had become the almost sole and 
controlling cpiestion ))oth in and out of Congress. The 
old parties were themselves dividing on tliis one issue. 
The '• irrepressilile conflict" was clearly at hand. The 
Missouri Compromise, that had Ix-en passed as a con- 
cession to slavery in 1820, was now to be repealed to 
conciliate the same insatiate spirit. To some, among 
whom ]\Ir. AVashl)m'n was one of the first to expose 
and denounce the scheme, it was clear that the leading 
men of the slave oligarchy were not to be a}>peased 



14 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIHURX, JR. 

with simple extension of slavery into the territories, 
Init that they would not rest until property in slaves 
should l)e acknowledged and recognized in every State 
of the Union. The " Nebraska )»ill,'" as it was called, 
was the paramount question in all the Congressional 
debates, and, by common consent, Irhe management of 
the opposition to it in the House fell largely to Mr. 
Washlnu-n. The niglit of its final passage was one of 
the most important in the history of Congress. Its 
advocates were determined to pass it. and, as they had 
a decided majority, they were confident they could tire 
out the minority. Mr. Washburn and others in the 
opposition took all parliamentary advantages to obstruct 
and defeat it. But the fiat had gone forth from the 
councils of its supporters that it must pass that night, 
and near midnight of May 22, 1854, the bill was or- 
dered to be engrossed. When the defeat was inevitable, 
Mr. Washl)urn held a brief consultation with a number 
of memljers with wIkhu he had acted during that long 
and tr^•ing confiict. and invited them to meet him the 
next UKU'iiing at the rooms of representatives Eliot 
and Dickinson, of Massachusetts. Only those were in- 
vited who had all been, up to this time, most thor- 
oughly united in opposition on this great (piestion of 
slavery extension. Some liad always been known as 
Democrats, and some liad always Iteen Whigs. But they 



BIOOEAPIIY. 15 

had all oi)pose(l tlie Nebraska liill. and sliared tlic 
opinion that only liy united action by men of all parties 
opposed to the demands of slavery conld any suecessfnl 
resistance be made to it. The meeting was held as 
agreed npon. and then was taken the initial steji in the 
formation of the Repu])liean party. Mr. Washburn 
explained to liis colleagues what his purpose was in 
requesting them, to meet together at that time. The 
Nebraska bill had passed tlie night liefure. and another 
wall against slavery had been Ijroken down. Hitherto 
they had acted with the old parties, and thcii- opposi- 
tion to a united and solid pai'ty in the interest of 
slavery had been unavailing. So it would t'ontinue to 
be until they cast otf' old party names and party ties. 
and united under a new name and as a new part}' in 
opposition to the aggressions of the slave power and 
the extension of hiunan slavery. 

"What name .should they give the new party '.' Much 
was in a name, and Mr. Washl)urn suggested that 
" Repuldican " was the most projier. the nio.st .sugges- 
tive, and the least oljjectionable that could lie adopted. 
It was a name to c(.)niure with, honorable in its ante- 
cedents and in histoiy, and under it peojde ever so 
nuicli divided in their })olitical views on other and 
minor questions c(juld unite on a- footing of perfect 
equality and with no implied sm-render of principles 



16 TIUBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

ur convictions. The idea was received with enthusiasm 
by every member present except one, w'ho was not yet 
prepared to give up the long-cherished whig name and 
party ; and with tliis exception, when the meeting 
adjourned they all felt that for them there Avas no 
longer either a Whig or Democratic party. 

The same day Mr. Washburn left for a Ijrief visit to 
his home in Maine. He had lieen there Ijut a day or 
two before he was invited, In' a delegation from Bangor, 
to address the people of that city on the great question 
that was then agitating the coimtry from one end to 
the other. The feeling of indignation at the passage 
of the Kansas-Neliraska. Bill was general and intense, 
and the meeting (held June 2, 1854) at the City Hall 
was very large, and niade up alike of Whigs and Dem- 
ocrats, few of whom were ever again to )je known l)y 
their old party names. The Bangor WJiig and Courier, 
of June 3, 1854, says of Mr. Washl)urn's speech on that 
occasion, that — 

" He closed by a solemn warniug atjaiust the present en- 
croachments and future designs of the slave power in this 
country, and eloquently urged that all true friends of the Union 
must now unite and refuse longer to submit to the demands of 
that power ; that tliey must stand with the men who have acted 
and voted for freedom in this contest, of whatever party or 
section of the Union they may be — by Benton and Houston 
and others, noble men of the South, as well as the incorruptible 
Democrats of tlie North — and thus hulld up a great and truly 



BIOGRAPHY. 17 

national parti/, somewhat sectional at first, perhaps, but na- 
tional in tlie end — a party wiiich siiall successfully resist the 
designs of the tyrannical slave oligarchy and save the Union 
from ultimately becoming one broad domain of slavery. This 
great consideration now overrides all tlie old party divisions 
and effects party organizations of the country. They must give 
way to it — they have already given way. Men who think alike 
Dvud act together. Freedom must not be less wise than slavery 
and slavery is united. Every true 'Republican' must rally 
under the banner of ' Ilepeal' " 

He tlieu adck'd tliat tlu_' new orgaiiizatiuu slioukl 
take tlie name of Repul>lican, and that their aim and 
pnrpost! shmild l)e the wclfiirc uf the whole Union, and 
flic sf(il)/Jcss liomir of the American name. 

In tliis s})eech Mr. Waslilmrn had struek the key- 
note of the genei-al sentiment of a large majority of 
the State, and on his Avay to Washington a. few days 
later, the citizens of Saeo called npon liim to address 
tliem on the great and living issue that luid talcen jn'e- 
cedence of all otlier political (piestions. lie was greeted 
))y an immense meeting, and liis advocacy of a new 
name and a new party. Itased on freedom as the corner- 
stone, was received witli unanimous approval, the 
indignation at tlie passage of the Xehraska Bill heing 
sliared alike by AAliigs and Dennjcrats, presaging tliat 
union under a new name that was to carry the country 
through its greatest trial and make it a lu'judilic com- 
posed in fact of United States. 



18 TRIBUTE TO ISEAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

In the " RivSe and Fall of tlie Slave Power in America," 
by the Hon. Henry Wilson, is the following passage :* 

" In Washington, on the morning after the passage of the Kan- 
sas-Nebraska Bill, there was a meeting of some thirty members 
of the House at the rooms of Thomas D. Eliot and Edward 
Dickinson, of Massachusetts, called at the instance of Israel 
Washburn, Jr., of Maine, for consultation in regard to the 
course to be adopted in the exigencies of the case. * * The 
name of Eepublican was suggested, discussed, and finally 
adopted as appropriate for the new organization. In pursuance 
of the same object, and in harmony with these suggestions, Mr. 
Washburn addressed a public meeting at Bangor, in which he 
repeated the views he had advanced in Washington." 

The passage of the Nebraska Bill was Init a step in 
the policy that the slaveholders had marked ont as 
that on which the government was thenceforward to 
be conducted. That policy was to make slavery na- 
tional and universal throughout the whole country. 
To do this, it was indispensable that slaves should be 
recognized as property everywhere, independent of 
State laws. The claim was to be opened in a territory 
where no State laws existed, and its constitutionality 
affirmed by the Supreme Court. The ultimate and 
most important object was not openly avowed, but 
subsequent events showed clearly that such were the 
ends proposed among themselves. Among the first to 
see the policy and effect of their legislation was Mr. 

* Vol. 2, page 410. 



BIOGRAPnT. 1!) 

Waslilnirn. and he oxposcd and denounced it at a time 
wlien few wlio sympathized with liim on tlie immediateX 
issue C(juld ))elieve in the audaeitv of the oligarchy of 
slaA'ery. 

Mr. William (ioodell, editor of the Radical Aboli- 
tioxist, early foresaw that this was to he the next 
measure thrust upon the p(_M)pl(.' of the North after the 
slaveholders hail extended their peculiar institution 
(.)ver the territoiies. In an issue of his paper puljlished 
in IS.")!), lie thus speaks of Mr. Washhurn's exposure of 
their deep-laid plans : 

"We liave,, until quite recently, stood aliaost alone in ex- 
pressing this convictiou. We find, however, that the Hon. Israel 
Washburn, member of Congress from Maine, lias held tlie same 
language all along, as will appear from the following e.xtracts 
from his speeches. 

" In Mr. Washburn's speech on the Bill to organize territo- 
rial governments in Kansas and Nebraska, in the House of 
Representatives, April 7, 1854, having quoted the Charleston 
Mercury and Mr. Stevens, of Georgia, as denying the constitu- 
tional right of the territories to exclude slavery, Mr. Washburn 
.said : 

'■■' Well, sir, as I have said, the drama of non-intervention, 
after one performance more, will be removed from the stage 
forever. As we sometimes read on tlie play bills, it is " posi- 
tively for one night only." Whether it sliall accomplish the 
abrogation of the Missouri Comproniise or not, it will have filled 
its destiny. In the former case, it will be thrown overboard as 
a tiling for which the slaveholders never had any respect and 
now have no farther use. Then we shall hear tliat the time 



20 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURX, JR. 

has come for the inculcation of tlie true doctrine : " The North 
is sufficiently weakened and humble, — the country is ready for 
it, — let it be proclaimed everywhere, that the Constitution of 
the United States, propriore vigore, carries slavery wherever 
the flag of the union flies." It carries it, we are told, into the 
territories, and neither Congress nor the local legislatures, nor 
both combined, can restrain its march ; for the constitution is 
above both, is the supreme law of the land — -aye, and carries it 
into all of the States, for neither State laws nor State constitu- 
tions can exclude the enjoyment of a right guaranteed by the 
constitution of the Federal Government. This, sir, is the doc- 
trine with which we shall be vigorously pressed if this bill is 
carried — already has it been more than hinted, — and whoever 
has noticed the advanced ground which slavery occupies now, 
compared with tiiat on which it rested in 1850, will not be 
slow to believe it. * * Nearly all Southern gentlemen who 
have spoken on this subject and have in any way recognized 
the doctrine of non-intervention, are careful to limit the right 
of the people of the territories to legislate for themselves hy the 
Constitution of the United States ; and they hold that the con- 
stitution forbids all territorial legislation for the prohibition of 
slavery.' " 

This policy, which Mr. Wa.shburu declared to be the 
deliberate purpose of the slaveholders as early as April 7, 
1854 (and repeatedly afterwards), was steadily pursued 
by them as long as they had any hope of keeping the 
government under their control ; and as late as May lU, 
1860, in a speech delivered in the House, he repeated 
and exposed the terrible issues that depended on the 
next Presidential election. 

The decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred 



BIOGEAPnV. 21 

Scott case, under whicli slavery was recognized as na- 
tional and slaves as i)ropert\" luider the C(jnstitution. 
was received liy Mi'. AVaslibni-n in part in these Avords : 

" 'By tlie constitution itself,' the court argued, slaves were 
recognized and known as property. ' Tlie right of property in 
slaves,' they said, was 'distinctly and e.xpressly affirmed' in 
that instrument, and the only authority conferred upon Congress 
was 'tlte 2MWcr, coupled vifli the (lutij, of guarding and protect- 
ing the owner in his rights.' These judges readily admitted 
that, but for the constitutional .sanction of slavery, it would be 
fully competent for Congress to legislate for its regulation or 
proliihition in the territories. Tliey stated that the Court had 
decided in a previous case that the power of ('ongress to govern 
the territories was ' un(|iU'Stiouable,' and adiled, 'in this we en- 
tirely concur, and nothing will be found in this opinion to the 
contrary ' ; thus destroying, root and branch, tin' wholi' doctrine 
of popular or squatter sovereignty. But, inasmuch as the con- 
stitution has taken hold of .slaves as property, and thrown its 
protection and guaranties around that species of yiroperty, it 
results, they maintained, that Congress, which is itself the 
creature of the constitution, cannot have power to destroy or 
impair that which the constitution aliiruis and protects. Now, 
if it be true that slaves are property under the Constitution of 
the United States, which is the supreme law ; that this instru- 
ment which governs and controls in respect to all questions 
upon which it speaks, witiun all the States as well as Territo- 
ries, attaches to a particular class of human beings the character, 
and imprints upon them the stamp, of luoperty, and confers 
upon Congress ' the power, couidcd with the duty, of protecting 
this property,' for the reason that it is property l)y a constitu- 
tion.'d recognition, it will be difficult to resist the conclusion to 
which these judges have arrived : nay, it will be impossible to 
resist it, or that other conclusion to which this decision reaches, 



22 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

viz : That this kind of property may be taken, held, used, 

BOUGHT and sold, IN EACH AND ALL OF THE STATES OF THE 

Union." 

****** 

" It is clear that whatsoever is property by the highest lav? 
of the land is eatitled to the rights, immunities and protections 
of property, wherever that highest law prevails. The Constitu- 
tion of the United States is in force in every State of the Union, 
and all laws of Congress, all laws of States, and all State consti- 
tutions, which are in conflict with its provisions, are inoperative 
and void. If a slave is property by or under the authority of the 
Federal Constitution, this relation or character cannot be de- 
stroyed or injuriously affected by the constitution of a State, 
for wherever and in wliatever respect these constitutions are 
inconsistent with each other, the latter must yield to the 
former. If the Constitution of the United Stales declares tliat 
a man held as a slave is property, he may be so held, treated 
and regarded in all places where that fundamental and supreme 
law is in operation ; and a provision in the constitution of the 
State of Maine, or of any other State, that there shall be no 
such thing as property in men witliin that State, cannot stand 
a moment against the Constitution of the United States, which 
says that there may be ; and the theory of the practical exclu- 
sion of slavery by unfriendly legislation is fallacious and wholly 
inadmissible — it is as unsound as it is dishonest. If t!ie chat- 
telship of a slave is recognized and secured by the Constitution 
of the United States, it is something more than a merely nom- 
inal recognition, for a security which is merely nominal is no 
security at all. The constitutional guaranty or protection is 
of no account, if the States, or Territories, or Congress, may 
at their pleasure render that which is the subject of protection 
valueless or not worth possessing. 

" The constitution recognizes, undoubtedly, the idea of prop- 
erty, but the specific articles or things which shall be held and 



BioGRArnv. 23 

regarded as such, it does not name or indicate, with the single 
exception (if the doctrine of tlie Judges of the Supreme Court 

and the Democratic party he sound) of negro slaves." 

* * ^ * * * 

" Tlie States are sovereign, except in so far as their power 
is limited by the Constitution of the United States. It is 
not claimed that the power of the States to declare wliat shall 
or shall nut be treated as property within their own limits 
has been taken from them, always excepting the one case of 
slaves. One State has provided l)y legislation that there shall 
be no property in cart wlieels of less than a certain width ; 
another, that there shall be no such thing as property within its 
jurisdiction in game cocks ; another, that an inferior and vicious 
species of cattle, which were being brought into it fiom a 
neigliboring country, shall not be introduced, held or kept as 
property within its limits ; another, that there shall be no pro- 
tection to, and no property in, domestic liquors; and when the 
question of tlie power of the State to pass such a law was 
raised and pre.sented to tlie Supreme Court of the United States, 
that tribunal decided in favor of the power. Thus, in all cases 
and in reference to all kinds of property, except slave property, 
the States and Territories (or Congress) have unlimited power ; 
and if they may deny the fact of property in any particular 
article or thing, they may of course regulate its use and enjoy- 
ment." 

* T^ ^ ^ ^- ^ 

"The expedient of unfriendly legislation, it has been seen, is 
not admissible, for the subject to which it is to be applied can- 
not be affected by it. Th° property in this case is not like 
ordinary property, within tlie control of State legislation, but it 
is property that has been raised by the Constitution of the 
United States to a position where it is unassailable. Any local 
law impairing a right which rests upon a special constitutional 
sanction must be declared inoperative, of course. Property 
founded upon such a right cannot be subject to any laws or 



24 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBUItX, JR. 

regulations more onerous thau are made to apply to other prop- 
erty, or perhaps than attach to the most favored descriptions of 
property ; certainly any invidious legislation, and all regulations 
discriminating against it, would be unconstitutional. The laws 
protecting other property would protect this ; actions of case, 
trespass, replevin — in fine, all the appropriate remedias for in- 
juries to property, would lie as well for torts to this property 
as to any other. To maim a slave would be trespass, to steal 
him would be larceny. So, an affirmative code for the protec- 
tion of slave property would in almost every conceivable case 
be unnecessary, and unfriendly legislation would in all cases be 
nugatory. What cannot be done directly cannot be done in- 
directly." 

****** 

"Iliavedwelt at lengtli upon tliis branch of my subject, 
because I perceive that this decision embraces and involves 
every question in respect to the existence, extension, and per- 
fectuation of slavery." 

" It covers every claim that the oligarchy sets up ; it forbids 
the prohibition of slavery extension ; it declares, in effect, that 
the constitution carries slavery into every Territory and every 
State of the Union, and e.xtends to slave property a degree of 
favor and protection such as is accorded to no otlier kind of 
property." 

In this speech Mr. Washliiirii had voiced the senti- 
ments of the people of Maine to an extent he could 
liardly have anticipated when it was delivered, for from 
all parts came the call for him to run for Governor at 
the next State election. It was his wi.sh still to remain 
in Congress, hut the demand was so strong and so 
earnest that in tlie great contest impending he should 



BIOGKAPIIY. 



Ijo at the head of the Rei:)ul:)]ioan ticket, that he re- 
luctantly gave his coii.sent. He soon entered on tlie 
arduous canvass, speaking almost every day till the 
election t<! iiinncnse audiences, all of which sliared in 
liis opinions tliat, as Maine would lead off in the fall 
elections, it sliould give no micertain soinid as to its de- 
termination on the question of slavery extension. The 
result of tlie election surpassed even the lu'pid>licau 
expectations. From a total vote of Il^4.(l(ll». Mr. Wasli- 
l)urn re eivcd a majority of 17,000, and with tliis im- 
})(.'tus f(_)r success the campaign opened. 

When Mr. Wasliliui'u entered nn his (hities as (iov- 
ernoi', tlie niuttci'ings of civil war were ahvady in tlie 
air. Tlie Legishiture that convened (in the -id of 
.Jarniary, ISCil. was to confront new questions and incur 
unexpected resi)onsiliilities. Tlie large majority had 
been carried intc; power on tlie same wave of enthusiasm 
as had the (Governor, ami were in entii'e liarmony witli 
him in a deternnnati(.)n to resist further encroachments 
from the Soutli. In liis inaugural message lie addi'essed 
tliem in regard to the thi'eats tliat liad heen made that 
Mr. Lincoln should not l)e permitted to serve as Pres- 
ident, in the following words: 

'' If the people of any of the States have detenniued that Mr. 
Lincoln, who has been regularly and legally elected President 
of the L'nited States, is not to enter on the duties of tliat office, 



26 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURX, JR. 

unless he, and those who have supported him, will purchase his 
inauguratiou as President of an unbroken Union, by concessions 
and compromises involving an abrogation and denial of the 
vital principles of the government, and of the cherished doc- 
trines and purposes of the great men who established it, and 
shall attempt by force to execute such purposes, they will be 
guilty of treason against the United States and will furnish 
occasion for testing the strength of the government. The right 
of the majority to choose their officers and administer the gov- 
ernment, under the constitution, must not be surrendered and 
will not be, whatever may happen. For in the dark catalogue 
of public ills, all are tolerable but the loss of a people's honor. 
An errant star, rushing wildly from its sphere and wandering 
however long and far, may return to its wonted place in our 
system. But when the manhood of a people is extinguished 
there is an end alike of public virtue and of individual freedom, 
and popular government becomes an impossibility." 

As is well known, civil war burst forth on the country 
when the first gun Avas fired on Fort Sumter on the 
12th April, 18G1. Maine, like the other States, was 
called upon to put down the rebellion ; and on the 1-4 th 
Governor Washljurn issued his proclamation conven- 
ing the Legislature in extra session. It assembled on 
the 22d, and was addressed in convention by the Gov- 
ernor in terms that met a ready respons^ from that 
Ijody. After briefly reviewing the l^ad faitli and wick- 
edness of those Avho had brought on the war, he con- 
tinued, repeating from his message of three months 
before : 

" We know that our State, whose attachment to the Union has 



BIOGRAPHY. 27 

been avouched not only by words but by works — by sacrifices 
which she alone of all the States has been called upon to make, 
even by the dismemberment of her territory that the nation 
niiyht liave peace — will renew her claim on tiie gratitude of 
the country by tlie alacrity with which she will furnish mate- 
rial and efficient proofs of her fidelity and virtue. Tlia.divisious 
of party will disappear from amongst us, and the names by 
which we have been recognized will be forgotten, and all will 
be known as patriots and defenders of the Union." 

He added : 

"And so it is and so it shall be, and this Union is to be de- 
fended and the constitution preserveil, not by Democrats, not 
by Republicans, but by men who love their countr}-, — ami all 
men of whatever party, who are for the Government and will 
stand by it and fight for it, are brethren. For one, I know no 
difference, and I will know no difference, and I will liold tiiat 
man as wanting in the highest quality of patriotism who will 
know any distinctiou between men, founded on their former 
party relations." 

In liis next annual address tu the Legislature (on 
the 2d of January, 1802), Governor Washburn ex- 
pressed himself in still stronger terms on the duty of 
standing by the gvivernment. of recognizing Init two 
elasses ; thosy' who sustained and those who sought to 
eniljarrass it. 

From this address tlie following extract is taken : 

" Whoever in this crisis sliall maintain or act as if he belived 
that the Union ouglit to be preserved if slavery in it can be 
protected, but that without slavery it is not worth defending, 
making in his heart, slavery, and not the Union, the great 



28 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

object of his regard, will not fail to be known and treated as 
one whom no impulses of patriotism, but only the suggestions 
of cowardice, restrained from the practice of treason, and the 
citizen who will not act in good faith for the Union and aid in 
prosecuting the war without conditions and compromises, or 
who, by his complaints, fault-findings or misrepresentations, 
weakens the arm of the national administration, renders most 
efficient aid to the rebels ; and whatever his professions, should 
be marked and shunned as one who makes his selfish purposes 
or his party views paramount to his love of country. 

" At the present time and under existing circumstances, a 
conditional Union man is an unconditional traitor. For in 
such an emergency as the present, true and loyal men will say, 
" Let all else die, but let the country live." When the star of 
peace shall return, the ordinary functions of party and party 
men will be revived, and the affection and confidence of a just 
and grateful people will be bestowed on those who, in the hour 
of the nation's direst peril, were most faithful and generous." 

When the war In'oke out, the State of Maine wan 
utterly iniprepared for snch a ealaniity. The old mi- 
litia system had fallen into disuse and neglect. There 
were neither the drilled soldiers nor officers, yet the 
popular response was most wonderful. The men vol- 
unteered l)y thousands aiul tens of tliousands at tlu- 
call of i)atriotism. and rc^-iments, if not drilled and 
trained, yet eager to learn the soldier's duty, were sent 
forward to the seat of war with a rapidity inii)ossil)le 
in any country I)ut wliere the heart of both officer and 
private was in the can.'^e. Governor Washhm-n was 
iustly called the War (iorevnor, for within the two 



DIOfiRAPItY. 



2!) 



years, wliilc lie was chief iiia,t;istnite, nearly OO.ddO 
trnoiis were niarslialeil and sent t<i the front, and it 
was acknowledged l>y the department at Washington, 
that no soldiers were better oi'ganized, or composed of 
sterner stuff, or did l)etter lighting, than the sons of 
the " rine Tree State." 

In consideration of the extended line of the coast of 
INLiine, upon which were more deep, accessible harliors. 
cajialile of jjcing entered hy shi]is of war of the largest 
class, than could he found on the entire coast line of 
the slave-holding States; that for more than four 
hundred nules the State was separated fi'om a foreign 
country liy a merely imaginary line, Governor Wash- 
burn was deeply impressed with the necessity of jiro- 
yiding for its protection, and labored incessantly to 
engage the interest of the Federal Government and of 
the State in this important ^vork. 

In his annual address to the Legislature at this 
session, he said : 

" In view of the proportions which tlie rebelhon had assumed, 
and of the complications witli forei<4n nations in which, in its 
progress, tlie Government of tlie United States was liable to be 
involved, and considering the dangers tu wliicb Maine would 
be exposed in the event of war between tbe Unitci! States and 
any great maritime power, I felt it my duty, in tbe month of 
October last, to address a note to tbe Secretary of Statu (in re- 
spionse to bis wise and timely circular to the L^overnors of the 
4 



80 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

loyal sea-board and lake-coast states), inclosing a letter or 
memoir to the President of the United States, in whicii the at- 
tention of the General Government was called to the peculiarly 
exposed situation of this State, and to the necessity of providing 
additional defences upon its coast, and indicating to some extent 
the character of the works whicli seemed to be indispensable to 
the protection not of this State merely, but of the United States ; 
and that this subject, so important to the State and country, 
should not fail to be presented in such manner as to secure tlie 
most favorable consideration, I gave it in charge of three able 
and eminent citizens — the Honorable Hannibal Hamlin, Vice 
President of tiie United States, tlie Honorable Reuel Williams, 
of Augusta, and John A. Poor, Esquire, of Portland — who im- 
mediately repaired to the city of Washington, and who by their 
assiduous and faithful efforts succeeded, it is believed, in im- 
pressing upon the Government the necessity of increasing the 
defences of this State, and of adopting measures for their im- 
mediate construction." 

The Governor correspoiuled with the Secretaries of 
State and War upon the siiljject. The President of the 
United States called the attention of Congress to it in 
a special message, in which he transmitted this corre- 
spondence to that hod^^ Tliese papers, together with 
tlie report of the Commissioners, were laid by Governor 
Washlinrn before the State Legislature with an earnest 
request that it should urge upon the authorities of the 
United States a vigor(_)US prosecution of the works of 
national defence within tliis State. As a result of 
these efforts, works were commenced on this coast, and 
have been prosecuted to this time with more or less 



BIOGRAPHY. 31 

vigor, Init ospecially so far as tlicy related to tlie 
strengthening of Portland, wliieli. from its situation in 
regard to tlie Avliole State and to XeAV England, was 
the point of all others the most necessary to he de- 
fendeil. and where new works have heen eommenced 
and are being eonstrueted. whieli. when eoni}ileted, will 
make, in eoimeetion with the old, this the strongest 
and hest fortified city in the United States. 

After the war had closed, and the rehellion Avas 
ornshed out. and with it the detestahle heresies that led 
to it, tliei-e still remained the (piestion as to what had 
Ijeen gained and settle<l hy the tei'i'ilile sacriliees that 
had Iieen made. After the aholition of slavery there 
coidd he no fnrther dispute as to its extension. The 
state rights theories of the Southern leaders also c(.)l- 
lapsed, and on none of the old j)arty issues had the 
peo})Ie ai'i'ayed themselves into ]>olitical organizations. 
At this time, and while the jmldie opinion was little 
concentrated on matters (if future jiolicy. Mr. Washhurn 
was invited hy the nuuiicipal authorities of Portland to 
address the people of tliat city on the a}i}iroaehing 
Fourth of .Inly. In this address, he ^ipoke with great 
force and [loint on the low eouditiou of puldie senti- 
ment throughout the country, which had allowed the 
institution of slavery to grow and exjiand, and practi- 
cally to govern the countr}' for many years, until it 



32 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL \YASnL;rR>f, JR. 

had waxed so strong as to dcinaud not only its rights 
to govern the country, Ijvit to impose its accursed h^cal 
institutions on tlie free states of the Nortli. 

Then he passed to the conduct of the war, its trials, 
its sacrifices, and its final trhunphs. But it had not 
heen without its compensations; it had raised the tone 
of piiblic sentiment and magniiied the American name 
throughout the world. Our people could no longer be 
taunted with claiming to l)e a nation of Republicans 
while we were in reality a nation of slave breeders and 
slave traders. On tiie contrary, it Jiad raised a whole 
class of native Ainericans from the conditioii <f sJares 
to he freemen and citizens, no longer a source of danger 
but of strength to our institutions, and whose rights as 
freemen and voters were to be not only secured, but 
maintained thereafter. The national standard had 
been raised, and with it the national character. The 
nation would thenceforth, for all times, )je stronger to 
resist aggression, and in tlie councils of the nations be 
recognized as one of the great powers of the world. 
The national credit and national currenc}" liad Ijeen 
established on a l:)etter l)asis than it had ever rested 
on before, and tlie future opened on a brighter vista 
than the eyes of any nation ever witnessed in the his- 
tory of the world. 

Of this address Charles Sumner said : 



moGEAPIIY. OO 

"The remarkable oration of Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr., of 
Portland, treated the subject with unanswerable fullness and 
ability. His speeches in Congress were always read with 
interest. Perhaps he never before spoke better than now. His 
oration is elaborate in form and arrangement, accurate in style, 
logical in argument and often eloquent. It is an important 
contribution to the good cau.se. Such a voice from Maine 
ought to be a key-note." — [Boston Transcript, Julij, 186."). 

At the close of his secMjnd term, ( loA-ei-iiDr Washburn, 
under the impression tliat tlie woi'k of tin; State Gov- 
ernment in proseeutini^- tlie war was nearly at an end, 
declined a re-election as (lovernor. Ilis labors had 
been ti'vin.L;' and inces.sant, and his administration in all 
res})ects most successful and sati.sfactin'j to tlu> people 
of the State. But he was soon called by President 
Lincoln to the performance of other duties. Within 
a few months after his retirement from tlie Guber- 
natoiial chair, tlu^ Collectorship of Portland became 
vacant, through the death of tlie able and popular 
Collector, Mr. Jedediah Jewett, and without his solicit- 
ation it was tendered to Mr. Wa.shburn by Mr. Lincohr, 
in such term.s that he coulil hardly refuse to accept it. 

Into this important office lie was inducted in Novem- 
ber, 1803. lie Hlled it to the entire satisfaction of the 
Government, especially of the Treasury Department, 
till May, 1S77, when he retired, and has since lived a 
quiet, though active and useful life, at his Ikuuc in 



34 TltlBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

I'ortlaiul. During this time, he has Ijusied liimself in 
writing fur ditt'erent ^lagazines and Reviews, and in 
preparing and delivering speeches and addresses on 
political and literary suhjects. Among his contrihu- 
tions at different periods to the former, may he men- 
tioned papers on Charles Lanih ; "Walter Savage Landor : 
Gamaliel Bailey; Modern Civilization; The Logic and 
the End of the Rebellion ; The Powers and Duty of 
Congress in respect to Suffrage ; Secular and (Com- 
pulsory Education. Some of the Conditions of Success 
in Life ; Centralization ; The Ballad and Song Writers 
of Scotland, may he named among the numercjus 
addresses and lectures which he has delivered within a 
few years. lie has pulilished. also, biographical notices 
and recollections of Chief Justice Ether Shepley, George 
Evans and Edward Kent. 

In 1874, he published a book of iSd octavo pages, 
entitled, '' jSfofes of Lircrmore.'" The preparation of 
this book, though unambitious in scope and design, 
was a labor of love, as it enabled him to j)ut in endur- 
ing form the records of his native town, and to testify 
to the world of the merits and virtues of the peo})Te 
among wliom his lioyhood was passed. 

In the same year, he delivered an historical address 
before the citizens of Orono, on the one hundredth 
anniversarv of the settlement of that town. This 



BIOGTSAPnY. 35 

work, like the •• JS^otrs of JJrcniiorr," was a labor of 
love and duty, for it was here that his carl}" manhood 
was jias.sed ; hero he married and here lu' aehieved his 
Hrst snceesses. 

At a later period (in IS"'.') he [irejiared for the Maine 
Historiral Soeietv. an elahoi-ate and tlioroui;'h iiivesti- 
.U'ation of a (luestion whieh. for many years, hung- over 
the State of Maine like a. cloud — that of the North 
Eastern IJoundaiy of Maine — of wliich the present 
generation knows hut little, hut which Avas the ahsoi-))- 
ing theme of talk and discussion in Maine for many 
years. 'J'he justice of the (daim of Maine and the 
manner of its settlement were fully examined in this 
])aper of Mr. Washlmru's. and the conclusion to l)(> 
drawn from it is that the treaty, which couclnd(>(l thi> 
negotiations in regard to it, did not secure its just 
rights to the State of Maine, and that it was in deroga- 
tion of \]w jircstitjr and honor of the Nation. 

Mr. \\'ashliurii is an active mend)er of the Maine 
Historical Society, and is Viee President, for Maine, of 
the New England Historic < ienealogical Society. 

From Tufts College he received several years ago 
the honorary degree of LL.D. lie lias lieeii for many 
years President of the Poaid of Trustees of this insti- 
tution, and on the I'csignation of Pev. A. \. Miner, 



36 TRIBUTE Tf> ISKAEI. WASIIBUIJX. .TK. 

D. D., he was chosen President of the FaenU\ . a position 
which he declined. 

He married, Octolter ^4. 1S41. Marv Maud, younuest 
daughter of tlie late Col. Ebenezer Webster, of On mo, 
1)V whom he had foiu- children, all of whom are living. 
jNIrs. Washhurn died in June, lS7->. In ISTCi. he 
married Rohina Nai)ier. eldest daughter of IJenjamin 
F. Brown. Es(|., of Banu'or. 



MARTHA WASHBURN. 

A TkIBUTE Til THK Me.MOI;V of the MOTIIEI; OF 
IsKAEL WaSIIBURX, Jk. 

\'.\ Mil'. .1 . U. Hanson, 

1 l:cn[ IHK ^r\K AND COVENANT. OK (UK AGO. 
- » , -v ?=«--- 

Whi'H 'riiduias IJanics and the rai'lici' ajinstles df 
iiiiF t'ailli licuau tln'iF wni'k iu Maine, rlicv fnuud tlu'ir 
li(.'arci-s among tlu' licst families of that section. 

The Coolidges. tlie Washhurns. tlic Moi'isons. the 
Haiiieses. rile PxMijamins. the ]!radford>. the Striek- 
lands. The Hollands, the Liverniores. the Howes, the 
Smalls, were the natnral and aekno\vdede'ed intellectual 
and social aristoci'acy of the State, and they wei'e 
almost all of our faitli. 

The excellence of their character, and their great 
inlhience on thi.'ir times and on theii' descendants, now 
scattered in all sections of our country, and still 
prominent in sustaining the hles.sed ridigion of which 
their mothers and fathers were the lirst modern ad\"o- 



88 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBTTRN, JR. 

cates, were often due to tlie ('hristian iidelity and 
consecration of the mothers who taught and trans- 
mitted the religion they loved. 

Could we but develope the facts, it would unquestion- 
ably be learned that the quiet women of those days, 
who had no desire for publicity, and no ambition 
beyond the rearing of tlieir families, who never aspired 
to make speeches, and to whom the production of books 
was undreamed of, are the real artificers of the charac- 
ters that to-day are their monuments. 

Among them should l^e mentioned — one of a class, 
many of whose names we wovdd gladly record — 
Martha, daughter of Samuel Benjamin. 

She was born in Livermore, Me., — a twin daughter — 
October 4, \102. 

She married, March 30, 1812, Israel Washl)urn, wlio 
was born in Raynham, Mass., November 18, 1784, and 
died May 6, 1861. 

Her life was one of great purity and excellence. 
Her house was the ministers' home. Her character 
was one of great womanly force, impressing itself by 
a quiet yet irresistible womanly influence on all who 
knew her. A genuine Christian wife and mother, 
reverenced wherever known, she will be especially 
remembered in the remarkable career of her eminent 
and distinguished children : 



MARTHA WASHBURN. 3!) 

Israel, LL.D., M. C, ;>2(l-o(itli Congrefises, from 
Maine, and Governor of the State in lS(il-2 ; Alger- 
non S., merchant anil hanker; Elihn 15., M. C. Illinois, 
ISol^-G!), Secretary of State nnder ({en. Grant, and 
Minister Plenipotentiary to France ; Cadwallader C, 
LL.D., M. C. 34th-40th Congr(>sse,s, Major General in 
the War t)f the Kehellion, and (Jovernorof Wisconsin 
in 1S71 ; Martha (Stephenson) ; Charles A., elector for 
California. LSdO. Minister to Paragnay in lS(il. and 
author of " Ilistor}- of Paraguay" and other works; 
Samuel B., ship-master in the merchant marine and 
captain in the navy during the late war; Mar_y B. 
(Butt'um) ; William I)., Surveyor General of Minnesota. 
ISOI-GO. M. C. present Congress ; Caroline A., wife of 
Dr. F. S. Holmes, Snrgeon (itli Maine in the late war. 

At one time three of the lirothers -wei'e in Congress 
together, and since then the fourth has occupied the 
position. 

It is to such women as she, honored wives and 
mothers, that onr cluirch OAves a. lai'ge jjart oi its 
snccess, and snrely snch nohle characters are the high- 
est product, as they should l)e the chief boast of our 
religion. 

There are and have l)een thonsands of sncli as Martha 
^A'ashhnrn, whose names are indelil)ly recorded in the 
Book of Life, tliouuh unrecorded in human annals. 



40 TRIBUTE TO ISr.AEL WASHBURN, JR. 

May they l)e increased and nndtiplied tlie •• Elect 
Ladies " uf owy Zion. 



IN MHMORIAM 



TRIBUTES FROM THE I'EIUJC I'UKSS. 



A REMARKABLE EAMILY. 



The Li.Miis of the Old Washburn Tree of Maine. 



From the Boston Herald, May 14, 1883. 

Seventy-three yeai-s ago a, man fri)in Raynhain went 
down into tlie (li.strict of Maine, wliieh was tlien eon- 
siilered a (iod-forsaken country, and established liini- 
self in hnsine.ss at Rieliiiiond, as it is now called. That 
has since heen a great place for ship huilding, l)nt this 
Raynhani man built the first vessel tliei'e. He began 
to build another, l)nt it was in the eml)argo times, and 
the second vessel was allowed to rot on the stocks. 
Then he moved again — this time into one of the un- 
settled back towns. Livermore it is called, not far from 
where Lewiston has since grown up. He was a mem- 
ber of the Massachusetts Legislature befin'e Maine 
become a. state, he was a respected citizen, l)ut his 
i-rown of glory I'omes from the fact that he reared a 
family of ten children, and a more remarkable family 



44 XniBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIlBUIiX. .Ml. 

the amials of this country cannot sIkjw. Six years 
ago, out of the seven sons and three (laughters of tliis 
modern [jatriarch. all hut two were alive. 

Saturday noon, in Philadelphia, there died suddenly 
one of the sons — ex-Gov. Israel Washburn. Jr., of 
Maine. Before we speak of him let us look at his 
family. First e(.)nies Israel, Jr., the subject of this 
article, who was Maine's Rejjresentative in Congress 
from ISijl to ISljO, and then "War Governor," as wc 
say, in tlie first years of tlie rebellion. His brother 
Elihu B., member of Congress from Illinois for eighteen 
years, Secretary of State and ^linister to France at the 
critical time when the tlermans overrun her. comes 
next. Then Charles A., politician, presidential elector 
and Minister to Paraguay. Next Cadwallader G. who 
was in Congress twch'e years, was a Major-General of 
volunteers during the rebellion, and also Governor of 
Wisconsin. Also Wdliam I)., Congressman from Min- 
nesota recently, and Sanuiel B., who served in the navy 
during the war, and A. S., who has confined himself to 
the banking busiH(!ss. Gov. C. C, of Wisconsin, when 
he died a year or two ago, left millions. W. D.. of 
Minneapolis, has nullions. E. B. has been talked of 
as a presidential possibility. Three of these brothers 
were in Congress at the same time. Was it not a 
pretty good famih' '.' 



A REJrAUKABLE FAJIILY. 4t) 

Israel, wlio died so unexpectedly Saturday, was 
In-ouglit up in tlie town seliools within a few miles of 
where Postmaster-General Howe, who died the other 
day, Avas raised. He never went to college, l)ut he 
read law and liegan its practice more than forty years 
ago. When he was thirty-seven }'ears old he was 
chosen to Congress from the Bangor district, which 
('harles kStetson, who died a few Avoeks ago, tlien repre- 
sented, and Hannibal Handin liad represented just 
l)efore. He served till 18G((, going over to the Re- 
puldicans when that party was formed and the old 
AThig party broke up. In tlie Lincoln year, he was 
chosen Governor ly ntnirly Ki.fKHI majority, and re- 
elected in ISni over the popular tien. Jameson and a 
peace Democrat l>y an increased maj(U-ity. Worn out 
by his work, he would not riui again, and was given 
the Poi'tland collectorship. which he held for more 
than a dozen years. Since he retired from that office, 
six 3-ears ago, he has devoted himself to Ijusiness and 
literature. 

Mr. Washburn Avas a typical Ncav Englander. He 
A^alued and retained the respect of his felloAV-citizens. 
He AA'as enthusiastic in his political and religious rela- 
tions. Many are the Universalist gatherings, conven- 
tions, Sunday school anniversaries, temperance meetings 
and the like, at Avhieh the writer of this has heard him 



46 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL AVASIIBURN, JR. 

speak. He always spoke as if he Ijelieverl every word 
he said. Earnest and lionest. he lielieved other men 
were. He had faith in the people. Can anyl)ody 
give a better reason for such wonderful snceess of a 
plain nian'vS children ? Israel Washburn Avas a man 
who came from the people, Avas one of the people (his 
great idol Avas that poet of the people. Robert Bnrns) 
Avho trusted the people, and sewed them to the Itest of 
his abilitv'. 



ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

His Sudden Death in Philadelphia. 

Complete Sketch hi- a. Bitsv Life 

From l\w Portland Daily Press, May 14, 1S83. 

Saturday afternoon tlie telegi-apli bi-oiight to Mr. 
Nathan Allen, at the Custom House, the sad news of 
the death of lion. Israel Washburn, Jr., at. 12:o0 p. si. of 
that day. in Philadelphia. Mr. Washburn had been 
out of health for several years. He had a serious at- 
tack of indigestion about two years ago, which was 
called by some a slight attack of apoplexy or paralysis. 
Ijut which was afterwards denied. Last Thanksgiving 
he returned from service at cliurch in the morning, 
took a nap on the lounge, and when he awoke, could 
not use his legs. This was thought to be a second 
paralytic attack, but the Governor insisted it was not. 
Since then, however, Mr. Washburn had not had the 
full use of his legs, and, suffering from other troul)les, 
he decided to go to Philadelphia and sulnnit to treat- 



48 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

ment by Dr. Mitchell, whose specialty is all nervous 
diseases. Accompanied by his wife, his elder daughter 
Ada, and his nephew, Mr. Allen, he started for Phila- 
deljDhia on the 19th of April, a little over three weeks 
ago. An associated press dispatch from Philadelphia, 
received yesterday, says Mr. Washburn died about one 
o'clock Saturday afternoon, at Lafayette Hotel in that 
city. Deceased came to that city two weeks ago to 
undergo medical treatment for kidney disease, but 
death ensued from heart affection. His wife and 
nurse were the only ones present at the time. About 
eleven o'clock in the morning, the Governor was strong 
enough to dictate a letter to a I'elative, but he then 
rapidly sunk until the moment of dissolution. Tlie 
Itody will arrive in Portland to-day. 

Israel Washlnu-n, Jr., was born in Livermore, An- 
droscoggin, (then Oxford) County, June 6, 1813, and 
was a descendant in the seventh generation from John 
Washburn, who came from Evesham, Worcestershire, 
England, in 1031 (supposed to have l^een secretary of 
the first council of Plymouth, in England), and who 
settled in Duxl^ury as early as 1633, and in 1634 pur- 
chased a place, still known, and near the old Standisli 
House, called " The Eagle's Nest," whence he removed 
to Bridgewater in 1665. His father, Israel, was liorn 
hi Raynham, Mass., November 18, 1784, settled hi Liv- 



( OMPLETE SKET<n OF A I'.rSY LIFE. 40 

orraore. in ISO!). Avlicre lie resided until his death. Sep- 
tember 1. 1S70. He was a farmer, and engiiged also 
in trade for many years. He took an active part in 
the affairs of the town, of which he was often an othcer, 
and which, hefore the separation in 1820, he represented 
four years in the General Court. His father, a soldier of 
tlie Revolution, and his grandfather (who had removed 
to Raynham). were prominent men in that part of the 
Commonwealth, had Ik^cu members of the General 
Court, and tlie latter a, member of the convention wdiich 
adopted the lirst constitution of the Commonwealth. 

Mr. Washburn's mother was a daughter of Samuel 
Benjamin, a native of Watertown, Mass.. and a Lieu- 
tenant in the Revolution, who served from the liattle 
of Lexington to the surrender of Cornwallis, and was 
in both engagements. Her m(_)ther was Tahiitlia Liver- 
more, of Waltham, Mass., an aunt of the late Hon. Lsaac 
Livermore, of Caml)ridge, Mass. Their children were 
Israel, the subject of this notice ; Algernon S.. merchant 
and l)anker, deceased at Hallowcll ; Elihu B., Re[)re- 
sentative in Congress from Illinois tVir sixteen years. 
Secretary of State and Minister Plenipotentiary to 
France ; Cadwallader C, LL.D., Representati\'e in 
(Jongress from Wisc(.msin for tiui yeai's, Maj(n'-(Jen. ui 
Volunteers during the civil war. and (lovernoi' of 
Wisconsin: ("harles A., editor at San Francisco. Miu- 



50 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

ister Resident at Paraguay and author of a history of 
that countr}^ ; Samuel B., Captain U. S. N. during the 
civil war, until lately living at the old homestead of 
'■ The Norlands," at Livermore. William D., of Min- 
neapolis, President of the Minneapolis and St. Louis 
Railroad, Representative in Congress from Minnesota, 
and three daughters, and a son who died in infancy. 

Israel went to the town schools until he was fourteen, 
then received a classical education through private 
tutorship for four years, read law, was admitted to the 
har in Orono, in Octolier, 1834, and commenced practice 
there in December of that year. He was elected a 
member of the State Legislature in 1842. He was a 
Whig Representative in Congress from the Penobscot 
District for the Thirty-second, Thirty-third, Thirty- 
fourth, Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses, serv- 
ing while in that body as Chairman of the Committee 
on Elections, meml)er of the Committee on Ways and 
Means, of the Pacific Railroad, and of less important 
committees. He identified himself with the Republican 
party from the date of its organization. 

In 1800 he was elected Governor of the State, and 
resigned his seat in Congress to assume his new duties. 
He served as Governor in 1861 and 18G2. It was dur- 
ing his first year's service that the war of the rebellion 
was begun ; there was no military organization, or at 



('((Mri.ETK 8KET<'II OF A BUSY LIFE. 51 

least a merely nominal one in the State at the time, 
and it was necessary to create one. For more than a 
year, nearly the entire work of raising, uniforming, 
equipping and arming troops and transporting them as 
far as New York city, and defraying the cost thereof, fell 
upon the State (iovernment. These duties involved 
immense labor, and much, which in other States, having 
an active military organization, was not re(]uired. But 
in spite of all obstacles, the first two regiments of Maine 
soldiers were sent to the front armed and equipped in 
a manner that suhse(piently elicited from the Secretary 
of War las thanks and commendation to Gov. Washliurn. 

After his retirement fi'om the office of Governor in 
18G2 — he declining a re-election — President Lincoln, 
in ISGi!, appouited Mr. Washburn ('ollec'tor of the Port. 
He then removed to this city and made it his home. 
So satisfactory was his fulfillment of the duties of the 
office, that he held it liy successive re-appointments 
until 1877. During his term of office the new and 
l)eautiful Custom House I)uilding was erected, and when 
he retired from the coUectorship, he was given a sur- 
prise party with many testimonials of regard from the 
emjiloyes of the customs who liad held office mider him. 

Mr. Washburn was one of the active promoters of the 
construction of the Portland i.^' Ggdensliurg Railroad, 
and afterward took a leading part in the organization of 



52 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

the Rumford Falls and Bucklield Railroad, of which he 
was President. He was also Vice President of the Port- 
land Board of Trade, one of the Trustees of the Maine 
General Hospital, and President of the Board of Trus- 
tees of Tuft's College, from which he had received the 
degree of Doctor of Laws. On the Fourth of July. 
1865, after the close of the civil war, by invitation of 
the authorities of Portland, he delivered an oration in 
this city on '' From what, through what, and to Avhat, 
the country had been brought by the civil war." 

Mr. Washburn was also a member of the standing- 
committee of the Maine Historical Society. His pub- 
lished works are a historical oration delivered on the 
centennial anniversary of the settlement of Orono, a 
volume of notes on Livermore, an exhaustive j^aper on 
the Northeastern Boundary question, published in the 
last volume of collections of the Maine Historical 
Society, and a memoir of the late Chief Justice Ether 
Shepley. He was also a Vice President of the New 
England Historic, Genealogical Society, and a member 
of the American Antiquarian Society. 

Mr. Washburn married, in October, 1841, Mary 
Maud, youngest daughter of Col. Ebenezer Weljster, of 
(_)rono, Ijy whom he had four children, Israel Henry. 
Lieutenant U. S. Marine Corps ; Charles Fox, of Min- 
nesota, a member of the Minnesota Legislature ; Ada 



A COMPLKTE SKET( H OF A Bl'SY LIFE. OO 

and Maud. Mrs. Wasldairn died in 1873. and in 
January, ISTG, .Mr. ^^a.shllnrn niariied Mis.-^ Eoliina 
Napier, (ddcst daug]iter (if Benjamin F. Brown, Esq., of 
Ari.)0.stoi)k County. After their marriage. Mr. and Mi's. 
Wasldiui'ii made an extended torn' aliroad. especially 
visiting the home of Burns, of whieh ]ioet Mr. Wash- 
hurn was very fond, as well as of Scotland, his lecture 
on the "Poets of Scotland" being one of the l)est and 
most a])preciati^'l' criticisms of the Scottish hards known. 
Mr. Wa.sjiliurn possessed all the qualities that go tn 
grasp success. lie was thorough in kn(_iwledge, a good 
orator, peri^istent, aggressive, where necessary, l)ut at 
heart kind and affectionate. He will he a great hiss to 
the comnunuty in which he has always taken .so nuicli 
interest, and also to all the enterprises with which he 
was connected. 



54 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 



ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

Funeral Services. 

From the Portland Daily Press of May 16, 1883. 

The funeral of the Hon. Israel Washl)iirii, Jr., took 
])lace from his late residence on Spring street yesterday 
afternoon at two o'clock. There was a very large 
attendance of prominent men and well-known citi- 
zens. The family — outside of the members of tlie 
late Governor's household — present consisted of Gen. 
W. D. Washburn ; Capt. Washburn, of Deering ; Mrs. 
Stephenson ; Col. Webster and wife ; Major Weston and 
wife ; Mr. A. D. Brown and family. The State was 
represented liy Governor Roljie and Hon. S. C. Hatch, 
of Bangor. 

The services were in charge of Hon. George W. 
Woodman. The i)all bearers Avere Gen. S. J. Anderson 
and Geo. E. B. Jackson, from the railroads; Collector 
Dow and Ex-Gov. Perham, from the Custom House ; 
Messrs. John D. Lord and Alfred Wo(jdman, from the 



FUNERAL SERVICES. 00 

cliurcli ; and Hon. Charles F. Liljhy and A. F. Muidton. 
I'mni the har. 

Tlie Custom House otticials were generally present. 
From the Maine General Hospital were noticed Messrs. 
H. N. .Jose, F. R. Barrett and Sui)erintendent Hunt. 
PVim the Puhlic Lihrarv, Edward A. Noyes and S. M. 
Watson. From the Maine Historical Society, Messrs. 
.Tames P. Baxter, Rev. ^Mr. Burrage, H. AV. Bryant and 
others. From the Rumford Falls R. R.. Vice President 
Hayford. R. ( '. Bradford and others. From the Atlantic 
& St. Lawrence, S. T. Corser. From the Rochester. 
Hon. Geo. P. We.scott. From the Cumherland Bar. 
President S. (.!. Strout. Lewis Pierce. U. S. ^Lirshal Geo. 
I). Bishee. Hon. W. AV. Thomas. .Ir., .Judge Symonds. 
Hon. L. D. M. Sweat. .Judge Cleaves. Hon. H. B. 
Cleaves. From the Board of Trade. Hon. W. W. 
Thomas, T. C. Hersey, W. S. Dana. M. X. Rich, Geo. S. 
Hunt, Philip H. Brown and many others. From West- 
hrook Seminary. Chas. S. Fobes and Dr. Weston. 

The remains, inclosed in a lieautiful rosewood casket, 
were placed in the parlor. The casket liore a large 
silver plate engraved with the name, dates of hirtli and 
death of deceased. There wei'e two superb crosses of 
white camellias, heath and roses, one from the Ivumford 
Falls and Bnckfield Railroad, the other unmarked, an 



56 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURX, JR. 

elegant wreath from Mrs. J. P. Baxter, and an ivy 
wreath from the family. 

The services consisted of singing liy the First Uni- 
versalist choir, composed of Mrs. Hawes, Miss Weeks, 
Mr. Hudson and Mr. Lambert. 

The opening selection was " Rest," nuisic l)y Warren. 
Rev. Henry Blanchard read a portion of the scriptures, 
after which the choir sang " Cast thy Inirden (in the 
Lord." 

Rev. E. C. Bolles, then spoke substantially as fol- 
lows : 

ADDRESS OF REV. E. 0. BOLLES, LL.D., OF SALEM. M.\SS. 

The value of many noljle wcjrks of art which have 
come down to us from Ijy-gone ages, is increased when 
we feel that the artist wrought into his masterpieces 
something of his own private life. The personality of 
a great soul can glorify the expression of its ideals. 
And so the secret Ijeauty which gi^'es its highest charm 
to the public character of that man in whose honor we 
are sad and silent here, is the rare virtue and sweetness 
which lies at its heart. And for this reason, whatever 
voice shall be lifted in words of comfort or praise, the 
undertone of them shall be the expression of our friend- 
ship, — a friendship which makes this death a personal 
sorrow and loss to every one of us. 



FT'XERAL SEia'KES. •)/ 

I can hardl}' speak as I would to-day. It seems as 
if my own heart was umler a eloud. The 1)etter portion 
of my own pnhlii' life was passed in this eity ; and I 
cannot think of tliose days except to recall our friend. 
1 knew him for many years. First, when his life was 
in its prime, when his voice rang out for the right, like 
the notes of a trumpet. al)ove the din of civil conllict. 
hi those days avIicu he made for himself a place in his 
c(_)untry"s history. I came to know him better when 
he took his positi(m here among the commercial inter- 
ests of this community. Not .so very distant do those 
ilays a}ipear ; and yet what changes upon every side. 
As 1 walk am(.)ng these Portland homes, remeniliering 
.so well who u.sed to live in these houses, and iiow tliey 
iiave been carried through the doors which opened for 
the last time before them on their jtmrney to the 
grave, the streets seem streets of tomlts. Of what a. 
brave company' he was the chief ! The old forms have 
passed away, the familiar faces art; seen no more, and 
now. — he is gone I 

The friendshi}) which makes this loss a personal and 
severe one to us all. shows the rare power of his life. 
He was born to win mans love. From hrst to last, he 
was a man to be hon(n'ed, tiaisted and })i-aised. Tie 
knew no dishonorable days. He received with his 
name — a name so honored and trusted in this Stati', a 



58 TRIHUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

name which was in itself a recommendation to public 
favor — a keen insight into whatever was most pro- 
gressive, most excellent, most necessary for the public 
good. Continuing in the line of its tradition, the name 
with him l)ore splendid fruit. He took up his burdens 
and diseliarged his duty with no common fidelity. He 
was a pillar of integrity. He was loyalty itself. His 
enthusiasm was a noble contagion. He was the most 
hopeful man I ever knew ; and back of his hope was 
an mifaltering courage. No one ever could measure 
his .sj'mpathy. He was l)road and wise in his states- 
manship. He was a lover of good men. His Christian 
faith and works were known to all ; and while the 
spire of our beloved church shall stand against the sky. 
I shall feel that no other name deserves more grateful 
memory in its communion. 

His, too, was a culture which made the rest of us 
seem like beginners. He adorned, while he taught it 
to us, the best literature of the world. His scholarly 
tastes aided him in contibuting to the public work and 
life of this city. May I not say that no citizen of 
Portland has ever done more for the refinement and 
enlightenment of this connuunity ? 

There is profound sadness in sa3'ing that sucli a life 
has passed away ; yet, standing in the midst oi this 
sorrowing family, we must also say that even for this 



FTTNERAL SERVICES. 5".) 

life there comes a higher one — the life of Heaven. A 
great life cannot all develop here ; it needs the greatei" 
privilege of immortality. So they pass on. these chil- 
dren of a mortal day, and the ever swinging portals 
give them entrance to the joy beyond. Yet what pain 
to ns in the parting ! Sad is the grave under winter 
snows or summer siui, sad the heart's badges of mourn- 
ing, whicli remain long after we have i)ut off the out- 
ward signs of grief. All this cries out for comfort, the 
I'omfort from the ever-loving Father, the great comfort 
which comes from the thought of the eternal and un- 
broken homi'. 

What do we think of Ilcavcn ? How })icturc it? 
It cannot l)e so strange to us when we first are tiicre. 
for who is there of us all who has not given to it a 
part of himself'.' Wlio does not look u[i to it witli 



of Heaven. " My dear ones will be there " '.' 

And how great a. portion of this life which we honor 
was given to tin.' liresidc and the family. True do- 
mestic virtue finds in him a worthy type. His own 
ri.se u[) to call liim l)]essed. Aud what a family that 
was which gathered at the old Xortheru home. I Ivuew 
it at its best, when the line. Iionored. grey-jiaired father 
was its (-entei', when the iilad voices of the brotiiers 



60 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JK. 

rang out. voices that will never be heard together on 
earth again. What unity, what mutual pride, what 
peace there was in that household, and how its mem- 
ories may give to its surviving members the i)romise 
of the household aliove ! 

We say, therefore, to the family of this man whose 
years on earth have been so full of honor, wlio was so 
yood, so true to tliem : " This, too, is oiu' sorrow. 

o 

Let us help you bear this cross. Let us pray together 
for the comfort of the Holy Spirit, let us look onward 
to our rest in the eternal year.s of God." 

Rev. Mr. IManchard then offered prayer, the choir 
sano; " Come, ye disconsolate," and the lienedict ion was 
pronoiuiced. 



A TRIBUTE TO THE DEPARTED. 

From tlie Bangor Whig and Courier of May 14, 188:!. 

In view of the announcement l»y telegraph that the 
mortal remains of the late Hon. Israel Washliurn, Jr.. 
will lie laid to rest in the lieautiful Mount Hope 
Cemetery of Bang'or, several gentlemen, who had con- 
ferred about it, informally invited a numher c^f citizens 
to meet in the Commim Council room yesterday after- 
noon, to take some action to show the liigh respect of 
this community for the departed. Comparatively few 
were aware of the proposed meeting, but at the ap- 
pointed hour about twenty-five of our prominent citizens 
assemljled and chose Hon. S. F. Humphrey to preside. 

Hon. S. H. Blake jiresented the following resolu- 
tions : 

Bcsidred, That the sudden death of Oov. Washburn has again 
admoni.slied us Ijy how brittle a tenure life is held, and has 
again reminded us tliat the greatest worth and the highest 
virtues, however much they may adorn and bless, and however 
ill the world can afford to part with them, still that they, too, 
perish in a single night or day, like the flowers of the field. 
8 



62 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

But the fragrance of the flower is left behind, and so is the 
fragrance of a good name — the best inheritance of man from 
man. 

Resolved, That we will attend the burial services, in this 
city, of our departed friend, in token of our respect for him 
whom we honored in life, and whose memory we cherish and 
venerate. 

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to confer with the 
relatives of the deceased and make such arrangements for the 
burial services as may be agreeable to them, and fitting to 
the solemn occasion. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the 
following committee was appointed Ijy the chair : 
Hon. John Appleton, Hon. Hannibal Hamlin. Hon. S. 
H. Blake, Hon. John A. Peters, Hon. Abraham San- 
born, Hon. Chas. Hayward, Hon. Arad Thompson, F. A. 
Wilson, Esq., Dr. S. B. Morison, Isaac R. Clark, Esq., 
Hon. Daniel F. Davis, Hon. Lysander Strickland, Hon. 
A. W. Paine, Hon. E. C. Brett, A. L. Simpson, Esq., 
Col. A. B. Farnham, 0. H. Ingalls, Esq., Hon. B. B. 
Thomas, Hon. A. G. Wakefield, Gen. C. W. Roberts, 
Gen. Geo. Varney, Hon. Wm. H. McCrillis, John Var- 
ney, Esq., Judge S. F. Humphrey. J. F. Rawson, Esq., 
J. F. Snow, E.sq., Geo. W. Merrill, Esq., S. P. Bradljury, 
Esq., John H. Wilson, Esq. 

The above committee appointed a sub-committee con- 
sisting of F. A. Wilson, Esq., Isaac R. Clark, Esq., and 
Dr. S. B. Morison to perfect arrangements. 



THE LAST SAD RITES. 



From llie Baiignr Wliig and Courier, May i'j, 1883. 

Tile remains of the late IIou. Israel Washburn, Jr.. 
were on Thursday, May 10th, lai(.l iieaeefull}' to rest, l>y 
the side of the wife of his earlier years, in IMount Hope 
Cemetery, in the presence of the widow and sorrowing- 
relatives and a large gathering of men distinguished in 
the various walks of life. 

Shortl}- after half-past nine o'elock a special train 
left the Exchange street station, l)earing to Mount 
Hope numerous citizens of Bangor, who felt it a privi- 
lege to pay this homage to the memory of the departed. 
There were man}' also who drove from the city in private 
carriages. Among the Bangor gentlemen in attendance 
were Chief Justice John Appleton, Associate Justice 
John A. Peters, Ex-Governor Daniel F. Davis, Ex-Con- 
gressman G. W. Ladd, Congressman C. A. Boutelle. 
Judges J. E. Godfrey, S. F. Humphrey, H. C. Goode- 
now and E. C. Brett ; Ex-Mayors Charles Hayward. 



64 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURX, JR. 

A. D. Manson, J. S. Wheelwright, J. P. Bass and Ly- 
sancler Strickhmd ; Postmaster A. B. Farnham, Hon. 
Wm. H. McCrillis, Hon. S. H. Bhike. F. A. Wilson, Esq.. 
A. W. Paine, Esq., Jolm L. Croshy, Esq., Isaac R. Clark, 
Esq., R. S. Morison, Esq., Dr. S. B. Morison and Dea. 
E. F. Duren. 

There was also a large party came from Orono, tlie 
former residence of the deceased, and among them 
were the following : Col. Ehen Webster, wife and 
family, P. D. Webster and wife, Mrs. E. P. Webster. 
Mrs. Joseph Treat, James Webster and wife, Charles 
Webster, Mrs. E. E. Snow, Dr. E. N. Mayo and wife, 
Charles Allen and Ivan E. Webster, relatives of the 
deceased ; and Mrs. Charles Bnffum, E. P. Butler and 
wife, Samuel Lililiy, Charles M. Gould, W. F. Chase. 
A. J. Durgin, J. C. Wilson, Mrs. S. Foster, A. G. Ring 
and wife, Mrs. Col. J. W. Atwell, Miss Maud Wel^ster, 
Miss Ada Gilman and Mrs. Eben Thissell. 

The funeral procession left the receiving tomb about 
half-past ten o'clock, and marched with solemn tread 
toward the final resting place. The relatives occupied 
the enclosure within the family lot, while the assemblage 
stood on the walks around. The pall bearers were 
Chief Justice John Appleton, Judge John A. Peters. 
Hon. Wm. H. McCrillis, Hon. Samuel H. Blake, Samuel 
Libbey, Esq., and E. P. Butler, Esq., the two latter of 



THE LAST SAP rjTES. 65 

Orono. The casket, strewn with floral ott'erings, was 
tenderly deposited on a l)ed of evergreen. 

The services were opened l)y Rev. Geo. W. Field, wlm 
read an appropriate passage of Scripture. Rev. Amory 
Battles then paid a eulogy to the departed in the fol- 
lowing eloquent words : 

ADDRESS OF KEV. Mil. BATTLES. 

It is tit that the last memorial services over the 
body Lif our dear friend, should take place i>n tliis spot, 
so near the scene where the yc^ars of his life, most 
crowded with activity and usefulness, were passed, 
and among these fi-iends who have learned to love and 
honor him, and who have watched his growing fame 
with such deep interest and just pride. And l)efore 
we lay this precious dust to its final resting place, 
within the sound of the perpetual music of the Penoli- 
.scot. it is pro})er that a few words should !)(■ spuken, 
expressive of our appreciation of his ahility and great 
moral worth. 

Israel Washlaurn, Jr., was a ))road-minded, large- 
hearted, noljle-souled man, whom anybody might l)e 
thankful to number among his friends. lie was a 
typical New Englandei-. A good specimen of the fair 
fruit, which grows upon the tree of our Republican 



66 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBITRX, JR. 

institutions. His whole nature was run in a large 
mould. His fine mental endowment was deepened 
and strengthened by a generous culture, a careful 
observation, wise thinking and a wide range of read- 
ing among the best authors in literature, poetry, 
history, philosophy, political economy and theology, 
both of the past and present. What a breadth there was 
to his views ! "What common sense to his thoughts ! 
What wisdom in his })hilosophy! What catholicity 
to his s^'mpathies ! What a sparkle to his wit and 
humor ! What abundance to his sociability ! How 
all of us, who have been nuich with him. have felt 
the brightness of his radiant cheerfulness ! It has 
seemed, sometimes, as he has come into our presence, 
as if he was a great company in himself. With 
what an intensity he loved the Ijeautiful in nature ! 
Wordsworth was not more delighted in wandering 
among liis native mountains, nor Bryant in roaming 
by the streams and among the hills of his early Hamp- 
shire home, than he, in looking upon the many scenes 
of rare beauty up and down our own Penobscot and 
all over this grand State of Maine. He gravitated as 
naturally to all that is sweet and beautiful in nature, 
and to all that is true, Ijroad, just and uplifting to 
humanity as the needle to the north pole. The whole 
atmosphere of his thought and life was wide, piu'e and 



THE LAST SAD RITES. () ( 

healthful. Commencing lii.-^ life'.s work a8 a lawyer, if 
he had confined his studies and energies to tliat pro- 
fession. It is evident that lie would have won eminent 
distinction at the Bar, for he had those mental and 
moral traits whicli are quite sure to gain legal success 
— a clear licad, quick perception, a well balanced judg- 
ment — allicit united with an impulsive temperament — 
. which eualjled him to compare one thing with another. 
an instinctive love of justice, an unflincliing integrity, 
glowing imagination, and a love of and ca|>acity for 
close and long continued study. 

With these qualities, he would certainly have l)ecome 
a. skilled c(.iunselor, and when you add to them that 
fervid eloquence wliich marked his pu!)lic utterance, 
moving on with increasing volume as he advanced in 
his suliject, like a river, widening and deepening as it 
flows, it is equally certain that he would liave taken a 
front rank as an advocate. But in the midst of an 
increasing practice and a growing reputation in his 
profession, he was called, hy the partiality of his fellow 
citizens of this Congressi(_>na.l District, to the lialls of 
(jur National Legislature. It was at a- most inqiortant 
period in our eountr3-"s history. <_)ld party lines were 
being re-formed and the questions of political econoniy 
whicli had divided parties wT're f)eing superseded Ijy 
the broader and more deeply vital question.s of justice. 



68 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

humanity and national existence. Tliere was no doubt, 
no wavering on his part, Ijut true to the noble instincts 
of his nature, true to the demands of justice, humanity 
and the calls of a broad and wise statesmanship, he 
eagerly threw his influence for the right and took his 
stand by those public men who had been longer in the 
struggle than he, and whose voice and votes have added 
to the strength and glory of our nation. 

After ten years of efficient service in this sphere, the 
voice of his State summoned him to the more difficult 
and critical duties of her Chief Magistracy. Three 
months after he took his seat, the cloud of war which, 
for the few years previous, had been growing bigger 
and lilacker, broke in all its fury and terribleness over 
our country, and then a new brightness was added to 
his name. By his energy, patriotism and enthusiasm, 
he took honorable place with the best and most patri- 
otic of the War Governors of the loyal States — Morton, 
Yates, Andrew and others. His acts during these 
years ai'e a part of the honorable history of our Com- 
monwealth. He filled this responsible office two years, 
and was then appointed to another position of public 
trust, which he occupied for fourteen years, making in 
all iu(jre than a quarter of a century of public service, 
when he retired to private life, without a stain upon 



THE LAST SAD RITES. 69 

his good name, no spot upon his clean hands ; witliout 
even suspicion resting upon his fair reputation. 

As a man, husl)and, father, friend, citizen, lie was 
pTUT', exalted, noble and Christian. And this l)rings 
me to say, lastly, that, in all his reading, study, pro- 
fessional laViors, now hotly contending for party success 
in the political arena, now deeply absorlied in his duties 
as legislator and Governor, he never allowed his inter- 
est in moral and religions things to wane. Away from 
home, attending to his various labors, it was his joy. 
when Sunday came, to join with his friends, in religious 
worship, and, on his return t(j his village home, Simday 
found him at the church, listening with as much inter- 
est to his own pastor as he would to the most eloquent 
preacher of the land, and meeting his Sunday School 
class with as much punctuality as though he was at- 
tending to the most important matters of State, and 
])ointing their thouglits and steps where he was travel- 
ing — heavenward. You all know to what Ijranch of 
the Christian church he belonged, for in his religious 
opinions, he was as openly, emphatically and enthusi- 
astically pronounced, as he was in all his other opinions. 
His nature, his thinking, his Bil)le reading, led him to 
the " larger hope " of Tennyson, 

" that good shall fall 
At last,— far off,— at last to all, 
And every Winter change to Spring." 



70 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

In promoting the interests of his portion of Zion, he 
was earnest and unwearying. To its schools of Learn- 
ing, its colleges, its Sunday schools, its various church 
enterprises, he gave his personal presence, his wise 
counsels, his liberal pecuniary support. No layman 
within its ranks, the country through, exerted a wider 
or more healthy influence. But while thus devoted to 
one branch of the Christian church, his nature was too 
broad, and he had drank too deeply of the s2)irit of 
Christ, to l)e l)igoted and narrowly denominational. 
He belonged, it is true, to the Universalist Church, Init 
he also lielonged to the Clun-ch Universal, and was 
glad to work with all those laboring for that coming- 
day of glory, when trust in God and love toward man 
shall Ijc the liond and badge of Christian union and 
God's will " shall Ije done on earth as in heaven." I 
say trust in God, for with all the l>readth of his culture 
and the wideness of his intellectual and religious sym- 
pathies, there was nothing of that nebulous vagueness 
ahout him which characterizes the noisy skepticism 
that is now so ardently trying to arrest and captivate 
the puldic mind. All the lines of his thoughts, spec- 
ulations and hopes, converged to those central and 
luminous points — Cod, Christ, Soul, Immortality. 

And is this '• the Ije-all and end-all " of such rich 
culture and noljle living ? Are Ave to feel, as we drop 



THE LAST SAD KITES. 71 

our tears u}ion this lifeless iVirm, that they ilow I'n.im an 
aft'eetioii that is linally tu he lilotted out in everlastiiiu' 
riuthingness? No I No! (iiiideil l>y this thought and 
all that is hest in human nature and luuuau history, 
and the preeious promises of (^'hristianit}", we Avill 
))elieve that he has laid aside this UKtrtal rolje, t<j he 
clothed with immortality. And as we Jjid him good- 
hye, on this day of ojiening spring, we will think of 
the welcome he has received on the other side frt)ni 
"wife, father, mother. l)rothers, sister ; from those with 
Avhom he has joined in religious work: King, Ballon, 
Chapnn, Leonard, Barstow. Ilerse}' and Hichborn — from 
those who shared with him in political labors : Seward. 
Sunnier, Wilson, Fessenden. Giddings. Stevens. Kent, 
and many other dear ones who have joined the sacred 
cii'cle there. FarcAvell, dear, nolile friend and brother ! 
Farewell, for a time, till we, t(jo, shall go to stand liy 
your side, and drink of tlie joy and peace of that 
inmiortal river "which Hows fast by the throne of 
God." 

Upon the completion of Mr. Battles' address, the 
following supplication t(.i the Throne of Grace was 
made by Rev. Geo. W. Field, D. D. : 



72 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 



Almighty God, we acknowledge tlie justice of the 
decree which saith, " Dust unto dust and the spirit 
unto God who gave it " — standing here in this sacred 
enclosure, amid the remains of so many whom we have 
laid away in the ground — about to consign to the grave 
this body also, dear to us because it has been the tene- 
ment of so true and pure a spirit. As we do it, we 
rejoice to remember that it is only the dust which we 
are about to consign to the dust — that the spirit, the 
soul — all that which we loved and honored — the clear 
mind, the strong will, tlie tender heart, the upright 
conscience — tlmt we do not put away into the grave — 
over that death and the grave have no power. That 
hath passed on already to the " God who gave it," — to 
its rest and its reward. 

In thy Providence, God, thou hast seen fit to take 
away one of our strong men — one to whom in many 
troublous times we had looked for guidance and 
inspiration ; and we have come together that we might 
express in some feeljle manner the honor in which we 
hold his memory — that we might I'ender the praise for 
his distinguished career unto thee who art the author 
of all that is good and great on earth and in heaven. 
We feel that he Ijelonged, not alone to friends and to 



THE LAST SAD KITES. / O 

family — to those whose hearts and whose homes have 
been desohited l)y Ids death — l)ut to all of us in whose 
midst his years of active service were spent, lief ore 
whom the virtues of his daily life were so long illus- 
trated ; and whose interests he represented and guarded 
in so many imjiortant relations, and at so many critical 
periods of our history. 

A mourning community, we bow before thy righteous 
will with submission, humiliation, confidence and faith, 
acknowledging that thou doest all things well : we 
would come also with the deepest feelings of thankful- 
n(.'ss for that which thou hast given, and that which 
th(ja hast taken awa\-. We thank thee for the ability 
with which he served his country in the coiuicils of the 
state and the nation ; for the lirmness, the wisdom, 
the strength, with which he maintained the interests 
of the largest freedom and the highest truth in the 
times which tried men's souls, and for the noljle con- 
sistency Avith which he maintained thi'ough all the 
changes of a long career the principles which enlisted 
the enthusiasm of his earlier years. We thank thee 
that through his labors, and the labors of a- multitude 
of others of kindred spirit, a terrific rebellion w^as 
subdued, millions of the oppressed were lifted into lil)- 
erty, and the foundations of our country's institutions 
and prosperity were laid on a broader and firmer Ixisis. 



74 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

Even more than for his eminent aliility. we thank tliee 
for the eminent integrity of hi.s life — for tlie purity — 
the honesty — tlie truthfuhiess of his character — such 
that no shadow of a stain rests upon his fair name, 
that lie was ahle to live amid all the fierce competi- 
tions and temptations of pnhlic life, in such way that 
no breath vi reproach was ever Avhispered against his 
highest Christian honor. And we thank thee for the 
rare qualities of mind and heart, which manifested 
themselves in the closer relations of life, for the warmth 
and tenderness of heart, the unfailing buoyanc}- and 
cheerfulness, the generosity and sweetness of nature 
which made his fi-iendship so delightful, and which 
spread such happiness through his home. And most 
of all. at this time, we thank thee that he was a Chris- 
tian : tliat he had an unfaltering faith in the truths of 
our divine religion ; that he believed in the God, wlit) 
is the Father of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the 
God who is not only an Almighty Power over us, 
making for righteousness, but an infinite heart making 
for happiness — a Being of boundless wisdom, holiness, 
goodness — guiding not only his destin}-. l)ut the desti- 
nies of the Universe to issues more glorious than we 
can conceive, by methods and processes deeper and wiser 
than we can comprehend. When such an one passes 
away in the ripeness of his years and of his honors, we 



THE LAST SAD RITES. ( •) 

do not feel that we are called iqjoii to mourn tVir him. 
"We thank thee that we are not liere hy this open grave 
to h(jw our heads in sorrow, but to lift them in joy and 
exultation — thanking and praising thee that such a 
.spirit hath iinished his eoui'se so well, and hath gone to 
his well deserved reward. 

And now, God, we implore thy blessing upon all 
tlie relatives who are afflicted in this event, })raying 
that thou wilt help them to liow in sulmussion to thy 
holy will and to cultivate that spirit of clieerful trust 
in Divine Providence which was so characteristic of 
him whom they mourn. And in all tlie sorrow of their 
liearts. may they lie grateful to thee that tiiey were 
permitted to stand in such close and tender relations 
to so rare a spirit — to see so near at hand the virtues 
that others Ijeheld only in tlie distance — that it was 
given to them to make his life happier, and at last to 
cheer and comfort his declining and suffering days. 
And may they feel that the l)est tribute tliey can ren- 
der to his memor}- is to inutate the excellencies which 
they admired, and so t') live in all integrity, imrity and 
Christian faithfulness, that his spirit. Iixjking down upon 
them, can take satisfaction in them. 

And wilt tliou Idess all of us. his friends, ac(piaint- 
ances and neighbors. May his memory, enshrined in 
our hearts, be a constant inspiration to all that is ]»ure 



76 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

— all that is honest — all that is faithful — all tliat is 
patriotic — to all that is gentle, loving and charitable — 
to all that is firm and Christian. 

And we invoice thy blessing upon the country in 
Avhose service so much of the life of the deceased was 
passed. May the principles of righteousness and of 
freedom, for which he contended, become more and 
more dominant among us. May no dark spot of 
treason, of slavery, of repudiation of obligations ever 
he found on the skirts of this great nation. May our 
country. North and South, East and West, he the home 
of freedom, of intelligence, of true and pure Christianity, 
a guiding star to the nations of the earth and a benedic- 
tion to all the peoples. And may thy blessing l)e upon 
us all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

The impressive burial service closed with a benedic- 
tion by Rev. Mr. Battles. 



EX-GOV. ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 



His Death. 



From the Gospel Banner, Augusta, Me., May 19, 188:1, 
Rev. Geoi-ge W. (iuiniby, D.l)., Editor. 

The Hon. Israel Wa.slilrarn, Jr., LL.D., of Portland, 
is dead. We write these words with a sorrow whieh 
cannot ))e expressed. We had known him well and 
intimately for iiKjre than fort}' years, only to respect 
and Itive him. Our first home, as a settled clergyman, 
was hi the family of his excellent father in Livermore. 
Then the family ol ten children were all li^•ing. their 
lives, interests and anticipations hap})ily blending into 
(jne. Several (jf the children were at that time at 
home, Init Israel, the eldest, was married and settled 
as a lawyer in Orono. From hoylnxid, he was an out- 
spoken and earnest Universali.'^t, both his parents frmii 
cliildlio(.)d having lieen rooted and grounded in thi,-- 
faith. Xo man could Ije more loyal to his religion 
than Mr. Washburn. It was ever a source of the most 



78 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

lieart-felt eiijuymeiit tu liim to laljor for its interest. 
Whether as a meiiil)er of liis own parish, or of tlie de- 
nomination generally, he was always generous and 
faithful. He gave lai'ge sums to Westbrook Seminar}', 
his last subscriiDtion, two years ago, being one thousand 
dollars. About the same time, the Chureh of the 
Messiah, — India Street, Portland, — Ijeing in danger of 
passing out of the hands of the parish, was saved from 
such a fate ly the pi'ompt and generous act of Mr. 
Washljurn, Avho, on liis own individual responsiljility, 
stepped forward and purchased it at the cash cost of 
sonie twelve thousand dollars, giving the parish the 
opportunity of redeeming it at its leisure. No man in 
our denomination in Maine has shown himself more 
true and loyal, and willing to do for the interests of 
our church, than he. For all this, and especially for 
the fact that he was ever willing and even anxious to 
be known as a Universal ist, we honor him with all our 
heart. With Paul he could say, in all truthfulness and 
honesty, " I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, 
for it is the power of God unto salvation imto all who 
believe, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile." In 
all the acts of our denomination, as in our schools, col- 
leges and churches, he felt a deep interest and an 
honest pride, and was never so haj^py as when he real- 
ized that our brethren were takins hitrh and honorable 



ins DEATH. 79 

2)ositions in their management. He was a leading and 
efficient member of the Board of Trustees of Westljrook 
Seminary, and Pi-esident of the officers of the Tncoriio- 
ration of Tufts Ciilk-ge. in wliich p(.isitions he ever 
acted witli great 2Jromptitude and energy, and for what 
he honestly regarded as the highest interest of these 
institutions. He was President of the Board of Trus- 
tees of Tufts College at the time of his death. I'erhaps 
no man in our church in Maine has done more for our 
cause than he. There arc none more highly respected. 
Indeed, there are none who are more highly deserving 
respect, for none have been more generous and faithful, 
or more devoted to the interests of our religion. 

What a loss to our church is his death! How will 
his absence l)e regrettecl 1 With what sorrow do wc 
contemplate the event I But in the midst of our 
sorrow, let us remember the church does n(_>t die in the 
death of its members. The truth of the Gospel still 
lives, and even the lives of the good and faithful are 
not lost in their death, ])ut are still with us, as l}right 
and lilessed examples of duty and faithfulness, loyalty 
and love. How can the life of our lu'other become 
extinct in his family '.' How can it die out of our 
church '.' Oh. let us be true and loyal and f.iithful as 
he Avas, and the blessing of God shall rest down upon 
us, both as individuals and as a church. 



ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR., LLD. 






From the Christian Leader, Boston, Mass., May 17, 1883. 
Rev. George H. Emerson, D. D., Editor. 

It will not be deemed unduly invidious if we say 
that in his decease the Universalist Church of America 
loses its most conspicuous and influential layman. His 
national reputation, his state pre.stige, his eminent 
abilities, his rare literary accomplishments, his enthusi- 
astic public spirit, his Ijorn leadership, his deep and 
efficient interest in every genuine reform, his faultless 
deportment, his earnest Christian faith, his devout 
spirit, his love for. and participation in, the ordinances 
of the Christian Church, — in every one of these regards, 
Mr. Washl)urn was conspicuous and influential. 

The secular press will pay — has already paid — high 
tribute to his career as a statesman. As a legislator 
in Congress and as Chief Magistrate of his native 
state, — and this in the crucial period of the rel)ellion, 
— he made a record which will prove a large constit- 
uent in the history of our common country. It will 



AS A UNIVERSALIST. 81 

he remeral)ered that in every contlict IxHween lilierty 
and slavery, between temperance and the ])aneful traiKc, 
between humane and l)arljarous legislation, he was 
always, and earnestly, and notaljly in the right — a 
leader of leaders. 

It falls to us to make special and proud mention of 
his service to our Church, and this in all the phases of 
its organization. Mr. Washbiu'u was first a Christian 
— a firm Iieliever in Divine Revelation, in the authority 
of Christianity, in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and in 
the Church as the Ijody whereof He was and is the Head. 
In all of thesf^ regards he was, in interpretation, faith, 
zeal and toil, a consecrated Universalist. He was 
this as an individual. He was a Universalist in the 
palish, in the Church urganizatiKU, in the Conventi(jn, 
in the Educaticjiial movement of our denomination fr(_im 
its very inception. He was present and an active 
participant in the first meeting that was called to take 
the initiative in the starting of Tufts College. He 
was a large factor iu all that has given utility to West- 
brook Seminary. His reputation as a parishioner is 
ideal. At Orono and in Portland, he was inspiration 
and leadersliip. and the trophies of his enterprise are 
pronounced and luauy. 

Mr. Washljurn was a man of letters. He was a l»orn 
writer. He had a genius for literary expression. His 



eli TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

manner was matter. He knew the secret of the Saxon 
vocabuhiry. His articles published in our church papers 
and in the UiiiccrsaJisf Qtiartcrh/, not less than his state 
papers, have a permanent merit in form, and may be 
read long after the subject-matter shall have lost its 
value. Had he lived in their day he would have been 
of the guild which included Swift, Steele and Addison. 
And what he could do, that he appreciated in others. 
His love of the literary masters — particularly of Laml) 
and Landor — was a passion. 

Mr. Washljurn was an orator. He had not a little 
of the grace of expression. But what is greater, he 
had force, emotion, the utterance that electrifies. 
When he spoke people forgot all else save what was 
jiertinent to the hdur and the occasion. 

We must not fail to note that no prestige of social 
position marred his simplicity. He had no touch of 
the pride that harbors contempt. He was friendly, 
sympathetic, communicative with all — with the humble 
not less than with the great. Of his many great 
qualities, the greatest was manhood. 

We cannot pass by without mentioning the simple 
royalty of his friendship. His friends were grappled to 
his heart with hooks of steel. For thirty-three years 
we had the honor of intimacy with him. Wc were 
proud to know him — proud to be known by him. We 



AS A ITXIVEUSALIST. So 

liave ever ami euutinuoii.sly felt lain a.s strength and 
encouragonient. We cannot forget tliat in losing him 
from our earthly midst, we are l)ereft of a valu<'d friend, 
a counselor and adviser. 

We mingle our lesser sorr(.)W with that which nuist 
I)e first and deepest — that of the surviving memhers of 
the lionsehold. We have ever recognized his great, 
worth: that worth never seemed so great as at this 
hour, when we reflect that here upon the eartli we 
shall never again hear his voice or grasp his hand. 



Memorial Service at Congress Square 
Church. 



From the Portland Daily Tress, May 21, 1883. 

The services at Congress Square Church yesterday 
morning, ^Nla}- 20, 1S83, were coiniueniorative of the 
life and character of the Late Ex-Gov. Washburn. An 
elegant floral pillow, on a table beside the pulpit, was 
the onh- decoration in the church. A large audience 
attended the services, and listened with deep attention 
and interest to the words of the pastor, Rev. Henry 
Blanchard, who, after the conclusion of the opening 
exercises, spoke in substance as follo^vs : — My text, 
found in II Timotliy, fourth chapter and seventh verse, 
reads, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith." 

We ha-se intended this as a service in honor of Israel 
Washlnirn. a leader and hel2)er in our denomination. 
The words of the text well describe our brother, for it 
was his splendid faith which enabled him to measuraljh- 
complete his course. His religion was a belief in one 



MEMOniAL SEKVICE. 85 

God, wliose natiuv is love, in Jesus Clirist, the Saviour 
of men, and in one spirit of love. I>y wliieli men will lie 
tinally exalted. First of all he was a Christian. l)Ut 
we woidd not do worth}' triliute to the dead did Ave 
not mention the ^reat lielief so often emi)hasized hy 
him. that all men are the ehildren of (iod. and that 
they are punished for repr(_)of so that the hnal result 
must he happiness. The thorough analysis of the 
(piestion led him. as it leads us. to the result that " God 
is the intinite love." 

This faith made him feel the presence of God in 
nature and among men, while it lirought to him courage 
and cli(,'er. He saw God in the river, in the lofty 
momitains of our loved state, in the beautiful lakes 
that lie within its borders, in the wondrous sea as it 
lashes our rocky coast. He called no man common or 
unclean ; in ever\' man he recognized a child tjf God 
and heir of immortality ; tlius came his res})ect for 
human nature, a respect which in de])th and tenderness 
could only lie found in such a man. With such a faith 
he had no doulit or dismay; he saAV that in the end 
liberty nnist triumjih over .slavery, good over evil. 
More in detail, we will speak first of his politics. 

His religion made him the noble politician that he 

was. and made him think that in America God meant 

to carry out a large jtart of his providential drama. 
11 



8G TKIliUTE TO IS1;AEL WASHBl'liN, .Ml. 

while it gave liiiii powei- in work. One of lii.s friends 
has said, •' he was the only man he knew who made 
his religion superior to his jiolitics." " Honest politics 
are a part of religion ," Gov. Washburn often said. 
Let us imitate his belief in this regard, and learn that 
polities are part of the providence of God, an institu- 
tion of Divine ordinance, that men wlio enter them 
enter them as children of God to advance His govern- 
ment l)}" their votes and deeds. So Israel Wasldiurn 
speaks to all men of this city and state and country. 

After coming out of the othce of Governor he en- 
tered into business life, and again we see the religious 
man. He may then stand as an example in Ijusiness 
life. He rejt)iced to make Imsiness for the prosperity 
of his fellows, for the good of citizens eveiywhei'e. No 
man has a right to live for himself alone, to keep apart 
from the interests of the connnimity where he lives ; 
all have some part in Gods work, whether he be high 
or low, whether he be great or small. Our friend re- 
garded the interests of others ; he had plans for the 
poor, the ignorant, the sinful ; his religion gave him 
power to work for the good of his fellow-citizens. 

And when in later years he withdrew from business, 
he busied himself in study. He desired to study so 
long as he lived, to slowly add to his knowledge, to 
learn more and more of theology, science, art, political 



1MEJ[()I!IAL SKRVKE. <S / 

ceonoiii}'. Many tliiiik, ami jH-rliaps with justice, tliat 
they have not tinn' fur study ; may Gdd spL'i'd tlic day 
Avlieii all shall have aii o^jportunity to wander in the 
splendid fields of knowledge ! Jlis faith made him a 
heljier in the eliureh and a co-worker in the denomina- 
tion ; for his work we give him hearty thaids.s. He 
stood l;)_v this church from the heginning, ever ready t(_) 
do his nianl}' part, to aid hy word and deed, and gener- 
ous gift. In denominational woi'k. at conventions and 
meetings, understanding the needs of the churches and 
schools, he was ever ready to advance any interest with 
word, pen and means. 

His was no narrow sjiirit. he did not tliink that the 
liody of which he was a memher had all the trutli. hut 
he }»ossessed a hroad. catholic si)irit, ahle and willing 
to rejoice in the honor and jirosperity of all. 

Of such a soul we cannot think that it is dead. 
(Jnce. when standing in Westminister Aljhcy hefore the 
Inist of Charles Dickens and Ix'tween tliose of Addison 
and Campljell, our friend said the words of Canipljell's 
poem on '" The Last ]\Ian " came into his mind, and as 
he then uttered them hefore the image of the wonder- 
ful novelist, so we may say of him now_. 

" Tliy spirit has returned to Him 
Wlio gave its heavenly- spark ; 
Yet think not, Sun, it shall be dim 
When thou thyself art dark ! " 



S8 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, .IR. 

FarewL'll, statesman, patriot, Christian, believer in 
God and loyal disciple of Jesus Christ, lover of the 
church and i o-worker in the denomination 1 We 1)6- 
lieve that we shall meet with thee again, and greet 
thee among heavenly scenes, where larger discourse 
and ampler love sliall fill the endless years. 



MEMORIAL 
PROCEEDINGS AND RESOLUTIONS. 



Proceedino's of the Portland Board of Trade. 



- »^-ViB^* 



At a nnH'ting of the Pxjavd of Trade lield .May lotli. 
President Wescott in the cliair. the Pivsident stated 
that the meeting liad l)een called to take action on the 
death of Hon. Israel Wash])nrn. Jr., Vice-President of 
the ]>oard of Ti'ade. 

The Secretary. Mr. ilich. rcail the followin.u' letters: 

I'oiiTi.AXn, Miiy 14, 18.S:J. 
'SI. X. llicii, Es(j., Seci-ctari/ of Board of Trade. 

Dkar Sui ; — I am obliged to leave town to-day, coiiseiiucntly 
i-ainiot l>e pre.seat at the meeting called to-morrow to express 
the deep sorrow wliicli pervades all liearts. Tliis great and 
sad affliction, " althougli not vuie.\;peeted," has come upon ns 
snddeuly, and we are called ui)on to mourn the sudden de- 
j)arture of one of our most honoriMl and highly esteemed 
members. 

In the decease of Hon. Israel Washburn, .Jr., the whole, 
ciimmunity is e.alled upon to mourn the loss of an njiright and 
honorable citizen; a faithful pulilic servant and a man uf 
great aliility, who is a Liss nut only to <<\w own immediate 
vicinity and our .State, but tn the nation. 

I would also ott'jr my sympathy with oth .'rs to the liereaved 



92 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL AVASIIBURX. JR. 

family avIio were bouiul to him by other ties than friendship 

weaves. 

Yours truly, Ch.\rles McLaughlin. 

Portland, May 15, 1883. 
Til the Secrctari/ of the Board of Trade. 

Dear Sir : — I very much regret that a previous Inisiness 
engagement, calling me away from the city by early train, will 
prevent me from being present at the meeting of the Board to- 
day, to personally express the profound regrets that I, in 
common with every other member, feel in the loss of our 
associate in office, the Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr., whose wise 
counsel, sagacious foresight and broad public enterprise will 
make his loss so keenly felt in the community where he has 
so long resided. I condole with you all and share most 
sincerely with the people of our city and state in the general 
sorrow at the loss of so good and distinguished a fellow citizen. 
Sincerely yours, William G. Davis. 

Charles S. Fobes, Esq., spoke of his relations with 
the deceased. He said that Mr. Washburn's death was 
sudden, Ijut that he liked the way of his taking off. 
A few hours previous to his death he had dictated a 
business letter, and another one but an hour before he 
died, showing that he was not anticipating dissolution 
so soon. ]\Ir. Fobes said that it was better than being 
sick for a long time ; than l)eing missed from his cus- 
tomary places, and when death finally came not to l)e 
missed at all. Mr. Fobes closed by offering the follow- 
iiio' resolutions : 



PORTLAND r.OAR!) OF TRADE. Ho 

By the death of Hon. Israel ■VVashlnirn, Jr., the Portland 
Board of Trade lose.s one of its most efficient members, and 
one of its most respected officers. His cdnueetinn witli the 
Board has always been an active one, liaving served as one of 
its Directors for more than sixteen years, during the greater 
part of which time he has been one of the Vice Presidents, 
declining to accept its presidency. 

In tlie discussion of the many matters presented for the 
consideration of the Board, Mr. Washburn was always found 
ready to advocate, witli that earnestness of conviction, wliich 
characterized his efibrts, any and every enterprisi3 tending to 
foster the gi-owth and prosperity of our city. 

From his long experience in public affairs his counsel was 
listened to in all questions pertaining to our national and 
state laws. Thoroughly ahve to the importance of sustaining 
all the industries of our state, he was specially jealous of any 
action wlii(;li seemed hostile to our shipbuilding interests. 
Upright in purpose, lionest and positive in opinion, broad in 
his views, by his death Portland loses one of lier most valued 
and public spirited citizens : therefore, 

Hcsolval, That in tlie death of Mr. Washburn tlie Board 
laments the departure of one who was ever helpful in its 
labors, ready at all times to aid by his wise counsel and advice, 
and whose interest in its aims and objects was ever directed 
by an enlightened regard for the good of the community. 

Resolved, That this Board desires to express its high sense 
of file sterling integrity and rare fidelity with wliich Mr. 
Washburn discharged the duties of pidilic office, and deplores 
the I0.SS wliich his death has inflictixl upon the city of his 
adoption. 

Besolvcd, Tliat as citizens of ]\Iaine, we desire to honcir the 
memory of one who, by his enthusiasm, courage, ability and 
energy, did honor to his native state m the councils of the 
12 



04 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

nation, and in troublous times directed its energies to the per- 
formance of every duty of the hour. 

Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Washburn the state has 
lost one of its most distinguished sons, who as citizen, states- 
man, and public officer, discharged every duty with energy, 
fidelity and high ability. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the records 
of the Board, and that a copy of them be forwarded to the 
family of the deceased. 

Hon. T. (J. Horsey said that he regarded the death 
of Mr. Washljurn as a serious loss to the city, the state 
and tlic nation. He was a man thoroughly honest 
and conscientious. He was a politician — but a poli- 
tician of the highest type, tolerating n(j trickery, no 
rings. He did that he believed to be right: he was 
always faithful to duty. During his administration as 
Collector of the Port, lie conducted the Custom House 
in a higli and honorable way, — in a, manner to be 
appi'oved by the city and natiou. In the death of 
Mr. Wa.shburn I feel a personal loss and a personal 
grief. 

Hon. W. W. Th(.)uias spoke of his knowledge of Mr. 
Washburn's life. He had known him when he was a 
member of the Penobscot Bar and a citizen of Orono. 
The eitv and state in his death have sustained a loss. 
He Avas a man of ability, integrity, culture and large 
acquirements. I feel that we, the members of the 
Board of Trade, have met with a loss. The Maine 



I'OHTI.AXI) HOARD OF TliADK. 95 

General Hcjspital, of which he was a Director, has sus- 
tamed a loss. The Portland Fi-aternity. of whicli he 
was the first President, has sustained a loss. The l»oys 
and gu'ls, more than a Iiundred of them, have listened 
to his words of eneoiu-a^^-enient frequently, and a last- 
ing impression has been left on their minds. The 
citizens of Portland liave sustained a loss. The man- 
ner of his social intercourse was liki' a sunheam. I 
mourn and feel his deatli a i)ersonal loss. My ac- 
quaintance with Mr. Washljurn was exceedingly pleas- 
ant, and I would that he had continued to live. 

Hon. G. "\T. "Woodman spoke of his early acquaintance 
with Mr. Washbin'u's family. He had followed him 
through Congress and through his administration as 
war governor of Maine. He was worth}- to l)e the co- 
worker with Governor Andrew, the war governor of 
Massachusetts. I was liis neighljor and his friend. In 
my last interview with him, I could not think that he 
was to go so soon. I go heartily with y(.)U in these 
resolutions. All Mr. Washburn's steps were onward, 
never backward. He was of a family made for the 
people of Maine and the nation. 

Hon. Sidney Perham said that he had been associated 
with Mr. Washburn in vari(jus ways and he felt a per- 
sonal loss in his death. Mr. Washl)urn was a remark- 
able man of a remarkable famih'. In some respects. 



96 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURX, JR. 

if not all, he was the ablest of his family. He achieved 
a proud reputation hi Congress. He was Governor of 
the State in the most trying time ; all remember the 
wonderful energy and fidelity with which he discharged 
all the duties of this office. While he was Collector 
of the Port, he was regarded at Washington as one of 
the ablest and best Collectors in the country. I know 
of no man who better discharged his duty as a citizen 
than Gov. Washburn. 

Charles E. Jose, Esq., said that Gov. Washburn was 
a man whom it was good to know. The Governor 
favored me with his personal friendship since I first 
knew him. All my associations with him were so 
much of a social and personal character that his sudden 
departure unfits me to speak of him in any adecpiate 
manner. It is a great loss to the world when one 
whom we call a good man dies. Certain men have a 
certain fitness for the times in which they live, and 
Mr. Wasli))urn was. pre-eminently, one of these. He 
liad one of the most active and aggressive minds among 
us. Other men have compared well with him in this 
respect, luit there have been few instances where a man 
of his ability lias l)een so uniformly on the right side 
of every question. His great success redounds to his 
honor and credit, and to that of the community at 
large. 



PORTLAXD BOARD OF TRACK. 97 

Edward li. Ehvoll. Esq.. said that he knew Mr. Wash- 
)iurn only as a man among men. In that relation ho 
had few e(]na.ls and no snjieriors. As a lawyer, he was 
siiccessfnl ; as a representative of the people he dis- 
played capacity, energy and courage ; as Governor of 
the state, he performed all duties in a maimer to liring 
forth the utmost good ; in a g(jvernment office, he was 
true to his own upright character; as a man. he was a 
Ijeneiit to humanity. To his other endowments he 
added rare literary aljility and a taste for poetry and 
history. I cannot fietter close than l)y repeating a 
quotation from the Scotch })oet whom he loved so well : 

" He's dead and gone, tliis I'riiice o' Fife, 
Mute i-s lii.s Imrly laiigliter; 
But, ah, tlie music o' lii.s life, 
That bides wi' us hing after. 

'• Ilis memory lives; the man may die. 
That lingers hright and louin', 
Just as a star lost frae the sky 
Whose ray survives his ruin." 

The resolutions were then adopted hy a rising vote. 

The Board voted to attend Mr. Washljurn's fimeral. 
and to close the Merchant's Exchange during the after- 
iioon. 



Portland Institute and Public Library. 



A special meeting of the Directors of the Portland 
Public Library, was held at 3 r. jr. Saturday, May 20, 
1883, at the library roonis. President W. L. Putnam 
in the chair. 

Mr. Philip Henry Brown offered the following trib- 
ute to the memory of the late Gov. Washliurn. which 
was accepted and ordered placed on the records : 

When a man of mark is suddenly taken awa}', the 
sense of loss which his associates and the community 
of which he has been a }irominent member so deepl}' 
feel, can hardly l)e expressed in language. In the 
presence of a great calamity words seem feeble and 
unmeaning. Yet, although the memory of such a man 
is sure to outlast the regrets which his death provokes, 
and so outlive tlie associates and friends wIkj lament 
his loss, there is still a melancholy pleasure in laying 
upon his new made grave a tribute of sympathy, of 
appreciation and of sorrow, however short it may come 



rolITLAXl) INSTITUTE AND PUBLIC LIBRARY. 9U 

of what i.s really due and litting. The Directors of the 
Public Library of Portland therefore order upon their 
records their pr(jfound regrets at the untimely death 
(if the late Governor AVashlnirn, their associate and 
friend. Others have recorded Mr. Washl^urn as a far- 
seeing, puldic-spirited and energetic citizen, as a care- 
ful historical student and accomplished man of letters ; 
as an iniluential legislator, patriotic administrator and 
wise statesman. It is for the Directors of this library 
to perpetuate upon their records their grief at his loss 
and their recognition of his long, faithful and wise 
service to them and to theii' charge. 

Mr. Washl;)urn wa-s one of the foiuiders of the library, 
and always and constantly gave it the advantage of 
his excellent judgment, sound literary taste and saga- 
cious ac(piaintance with affairs. lie did what he could, 
and more than most, to make tlu' institution really 
worthy of the name, and to his persistent and tireless 
exertions in its liehalf, are no doubt largely due what- 
ever prominenee and success the lilirary has achie\'ed. 

The world, and most of all institutions like this, 
struggling against infinite difficulties, for the benefit of 
a somewhat unappreciative community, can ill afford 
to lose a man like Gov. Waslil)uru, who stea-dily, con- 
scientiously and unselfishly devoted a large part of his 
time to the "-ood of others. But the grief which Mr. 



100 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

Washburn's friends and associates now feel so pain- 
fully is tempered by the satisfaction of knowing that 
his career was well rounded, complete and successful, 
and that the memor}- which he has left liehind him is 
unclouded and enduring. 

The Secretary is directed to engross this minute 
upon the records of the library, and to send a copy of 
it to Mr. Washburn's family. 

Attest : M. B. Coolidge, Eecordbuj Sccrctarj/. 



Resolutions of the Portland Fraternity Club. 



Deeply sensilile of the loss we have sustained by tlie 
death of the late Vice President of the Fraternity Club 
— Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr., — we desire to place on 
our records an expression of the high esteem in which 
we held our late associate, and the sincere affection we 
cherished for him. We heartily respond to the public 
tributes which have already been j^aid to his memory, 
and recognize in Gov. Waslil)urn a citizen who deserved 
well of the connnnnity in which he lived, and a states- 
man who rendered invaluable service to his own state 
and to the nation, Ijoth in peace and war. 

In this connection, however, it seems more fitting to 
recognize his relations to the Fraternity Club, of which 
he was so distinguished an ornament. One of the first 
to encourge the movement which led to the formation 
of the Portland Fraternity — he assisted in the organi- 
zation of that society, and subsequently, when the clul) 
was organized, he was equalh' i-eady to co-operate with 
the gentlemen with whom it originated. 



102 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASnBURN, JR. 

From its inception, then, Gov. Washburn was an 
active member and efficient officer of the clnb. While 
liis health permitted, he was generally j'^^^^nt at its 
weekly meetings and contrilnited his full share to their 
success. 

His papers were always timely, usually elaborate 
and invariably well received by the club. 

His wide reading, varied acquisitions, retentive mem- 
ory and ready wit, enabled him to participate in our 
weekly discussions with a versatility which enhanced 
his own reputation, and added much to the stores of 
our knowledge. 

His cheerful temper and hopeful views entitled him 
to the appellation of our chief Optimist, for he never 
failed to luok on the l)right side of every question, and 
to find a silver lining to every cloud. The cordiality 
of his manners, the heartiness of his hand-grasp, and 
cheeriness of his voice, endeared him to all our hearts. 

Gov. Washburn delighted to receive the club at his 
own house, and always made its meetings there an 
occasion of special interest to his friends. 

Take him all in all, as a member of the club, we 
shall not soon find his peer or look upon his like again. 

As a citizen, neighbor and friend, he was worthy of 
the offices of honor and of trust which were conferred 
on him by the suffrages of his fellows. In the course 



I'OUTLANl) F15ATERN1TY CLUB. lOo 

of his life he enjoyed rare opportunities, and he im- 
proved tliem to the utmost. 

Gov. Wasliburn was not a man to let the grass grow- 
under his fet't. Alive and alert in every direction, his 
busy brain was ever active in devising something new 
in the spheres of his personal activity and for the gen- 
eral welfare. 

We, of the Fraternity Club, will not fail to cherisli 
his memory or revere his virtues, and we desire to 
offer our sincere sympathy to the widow and the 
orphans who mourn the loss of a most honored, faith- 
ful and aii'ectionate husl)and and fatlier. 

A. Dalton. I 

C. W. GoDDARi). , Cuvviiuttec. 

W. W. Thomas. Ji;.. 



New England Historic, Genealogical Society. 



The first meeting after the summer recess was held 
September 5, 1883, at tlie Society's house, 18 Somerset 
street, Boston, the President, Marshall P. Wilder, 
Ph.D., in the chair. 

Cyrus Woodman, Chairman of the Committee ap- 
pointed at the last meeting, reported the following 
resolutions : 

Resolved, That in the death of the Hou. Israel Washburn, 
Jr., we mourn the departure of an honored member and an 
early and constant friend of this society ; 

Of one who, in the councils of the nation and as Ctovernor 
of his native state, gained the distinction due to uncommon 
ability, patriotic fervor and unquestioned integrity ; 

Of one whose high ambition, generous impulses and fearless 
yet affectionate nature were so tempered, restrained and 
guided in their untiring action by a constant sense of the 
duty which he owed to himself, his friends, his family, his 
country and his God, that he passed through all the various 
scenes and duties of an active and conspicuous life, uncon- 
taminated, without reproach, honored, respected and beloved. 

Eesolved, That, while we mourn his death, we rejoice to find 
in his life an encouragement for our own devotion to duty, 



iSr. E. niSTOEic, genealogical sogiett. 105 

and an example for those ingenuous youth who seek the dis- 
tmction of honorable .station, and the crownmg glory of well- 
spent lives. 

Resolved, That a eopy of these resolutions be forwarded to 
the family of our late associate, and be entered on the records 
of the society. 

After remarks l)y the President on the loss stistaiiied 
l;)y this Society and the people at large in the death of 
Ex-Governor Washlnirn. the resolutions were unani- 
niunsly adopted. 

Attest: David G. Haskixs, Ji;., 

RecorduKj Sccrctarii. 



Tufts Colleg^e Memorial. 



The Trustees of Tufts College held a regular meet- 
mg, Friday, June 15th, Hon. Charles Robmson, Vice 
President, in the chair. Rev. E. C. Bolles, D. D., for a 
committee named at the last meeting, presented the 
following memorial, which was ordered to be recorded : 

The Trustees of Tufts College, having been made 
acquainted with the recent death of Hon. Israel Wash- 
burn, Jr., LL.D., President of their Board, and since 
its foundation an esteemed and efficient friend of the 
college, hereljy instruct their Secretary to enter the 
following minute, in honor and memory of their asso- 
ciate, upon the records of the Board : 

We gratefully remember and acknowledge the many 
eminent qualities which gave to Governor Washburn a 
just pre-eminence in our councils — his ardent enthu- 
siasm for the higher learning, his admirable intellectual 
training and eloquence — and deeply regret that he has 
not been permitted longer to assist and enjoy with us 



TUFTS COLLEGE. 1()7 

the prosperity of an institution to which so much of 
his heart lias been given. 

We rejoice tliat to our honored President, in a long 
and active public life, have been committed so many 
and exalted trusts from his native state and the general 
government of our country ; but we take especial pride 
in remembering that all thes(> obligations were assumed 
in the spirit of patriotism and discharged with integ- 
rity ; thai he stood in troulded times as an example of 
wise and lofty statesmanship, true to the noblest ideals 
of liberty and loyalty ; and that his death is the Ijc- 
I'eavemcnt of his country no less than of the family 
which mourns him, or the institutions of learning 
which will miss his guiding hand. 

Nor can we omit the mention of his simjjle and 
earnest Christian life, graced with those virtues out of 
which his puldic merits sprung. His miselfish and un- 
wavering devotion to that Church which has founded 
and endowed Tufts College, and to which he always 
looked as the guide of his pure and cheerful life, will 
long serve as the inspiration and lielp of those wIkj 
remain to succeed him in its service. 

Attest : 

T. H. Armstrong, Sccrctart/. 



108 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

President Capen, in his annual report for 1883 of 
Tufts College, speaks of the late Israel Washburn, Jr., 
as follows : 

The corporation has also been called to mourn the 
loss of Israel Washburn, Jr., LL.D., whose death 
occurred very unexpectedly in May last. Mr. Wash- 
burn was the last surviving person whose nieml^ership 
of the corporation was continuous from its first organi- 
zation. Since the death of Oliver Dean, M. D., in 
1872, he has held the office of President of the Trustees, 
and on the resignation of the Rev. A. A. Miner, D. D., 
as President of the College, he was elected as his 
successor, but declined to serve. Mr. Washburn was 
one of the few strongly marked characters of his time. 
A statesman, a social reformer, a philanthropist and a 
Christian, earnest, positive, uncompromising, diligent 
and faithful in promulgating his opinions and discharg- 
ing his trusts, he puts the impress of his personality 
upon the most important movements of the age in 
which he lived. It would be impossible to write the 
history, either of his native state or the nation, during 
the last fifty years, without a recognition of his ideas 
and services. It is pleasant to rememljer that, among 
the many objects which claimed his attention and 
aroused his sym^jathies, this College held no second 
place in his affections. He watched its organization 



TUFTS (■()LLE(iK. 



10'.) 



and dt'velopment witli an nntlagging interest, ami 
was never weary of any effort that might promote its 
progre.ss. He also sought the development, liy wise 
counsels and sulistantial aid. of those snl)ordinatc 
schools which are directly tributary to the life of the 
Colleo-e. 



Resolutions of Trustees of Westbrook 
Seminary. 

At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of 
Westln'ook Seminary, held June 28, 1883, the follow- 
ing resolutions were passed on the death of Governor 

Washljurn : 

WJiereas, It has pleased the Allwise Disposer of events to 
remove from us our former associate, Hon. Israel Washburn, 
Jr., therefore — 

Resolved, That in the death of ]Mr. Washhuru the Board of 
Trustees of Westbrook Seminary and Female College loses an 
honored and efficient member, and the Institution one of its 
best and most devoted friends. 

Resolved, That we tender to the bereaved family our con- 
dolence and heartfelt sympathy. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the records 
of this Board and a copy be sent to the family of the deceased. 

A true copy : 

Grenville M. Stevens, Secretari/. 



Resolutions of the Cumberland Bar 
Association, 



PoRTLAXi), May 14. 1883. 

A special meeting was held in the rooms of the 
Association at 4 r. m.. at which President Strout an- 
nounced the death of Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr.. where- 
upon the following resolutions were adopted : 

llliercas. The attention of this Association is called to the 
death of Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr., a member of the Bar of 
this state ; although he never practiced at the Bar in this 
county, yet his long and valuable public services, his varied 
and extensive learning, hi.s interest in all pubKc enterprises 
designed to benefit his native state, his unimpeachable integ- 
rity and constant urbanity in his intercourse with his felk^w 
men demand of us an expression of our respect, therefore as a 
mark of esteem it is by us 

Hesolved, That a committee of the Bar be appointed by the 
President to represent the Cumberland Bar at the funeral of 
the late Hon. Israel Washtium, Jr. 

Ilcsolved, That these resolutions lie spread upon our records, 
and that a copy of tlie same be sent to tlie family of tlie de- 
ceased. 



112 CUM15ERLAXD DAR ASSOCIATION. 

The President appointed as said committee, Messrs. 
Bion Bradbury, Jolni Rand, George F. Talbot, George 
F. Emery, S. C. Strout, J. H. Drummond, A. A. Strout, 
H. B. Cleaves, Charles F. Lil)i)y, W. W. Thomas, Jr.. 
and Francis Fessenden. 

Voted to adjonrn. 

(Signed), F. S. Wateriiouse, 

Secrvidi'ii. 

A true copy from the records. 

Attest : Fraxklix C. Payson, 

Sccrcfarii. 



TRIBUTE OF THH 
MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



Tribute of the Maine Historical Society. 



May 25, 1883. 
Evening Session. 

On taking the chair, at the meeting of the Maine 
Historical Society, the President, Hon. James W. 
Bradbur}', of Angusta., said : 

We sadly miss this evening the presence of one 
whom we have long l)een accustomed to meet on occa- 
sions like the present. We miss the cheering words, 
the animated voice and wise counsel of him who was 
always ready to aid in our delil.terations, and to add 
interest to onv proceedings. By the death of Governor 
Washburn, our society has suffered a great and an 
almost irreparable loss. 

I saw him shortly before my departure for the South. 
and although his health had become impaired, he man- 
ifested his usual animation and interest in the events 
of the day, and in the affairs (jf tmv society, and 1 
hoped for his restoration to health at no distant period. 
On my way towards the North, I was shocked to learn 



116 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN,. JR. 

of his lamented death. I did not know, liowever, of 
the eontemphxted action of our society in respect to his 
memory until I reached tliis city Last evening. 

To do justice to the memory of so excellent a man 
as Governor Washburn, who possessed such untiring 
perseverance in the honorable pursuits of life, such 
aptitude for the successful performance of the duties 
of every situation he attained, and such conscientious 
fidelity in their discharge — whose character was so 
marked and decided, and whose career was so varied 
and honorable, requires more than the hurried sugges- 
tions of the moment, and this can also be Ijetter done 
by liis aljle and accomplished townsmen whom I see 
present, and with whom he had long been associated 
in friendly and intimate relations. With the brief 
testimony that our society has lost an active and effi- 
cient member, the community a public-spirited, benev- 
olent citizen, the state a valued and faithful public 
servant, and his family a kind and affectionate husband 
and father, 1 shall call upon others to do justice to his 
memory. 

James P. Baxter, Esq., said : 

Mr. President: — It is certainly Avith feelings too 
deep to brook set phrases of rhetoric that I speak of 
our Ijeloved associate to-nitcht. He was a man of such 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 117 

admirable qualities, that he endeared himself to us all 
in an unusual degree. We all remember him as a wise 
counsellor, a sturdy friend and genial companion, but 
in my view, the most remarkable trait of character 
which he possessed, was his interest in the public weal, 
which, quickened by an unquenchable enthusiasm, 
never waned and never failed to enkindle in those 
about him a kindred interest. In many men who 
possess the public spirit, one ever detects a dissonance 
born of selfishness ; but with our friend there was no 
such sound ; no jar of self marred the clear ring of his 
heart, and the recognition of this by others gave a 
potency to his influence which no ingenuity of argu- 
ment nor brilliancy of oratory could give. 

This complete abnegation of self impressed itself 
upon me at my last interview with him. He met me 
in his usual breezy manner, with a hearty hand-grasp 
and '• How goes everything ? " and, after discussing the 
work of the Historical Society, he said, " Well, one of 
these days we must have a house of our own," and 
then a little more slowly, " How fine that will be for 
us when we go down town, to have a cozy place where 
we can meet and talk over matters ; it will be fine ; it 
will be fine." There was a pathos in all this which 
appealed to me forcibly. He was looking down to the 
future and planning for others. He well knew that 



118 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

the consummation he wished was afar off, and that 
he could not expect to enjoy it. By toe he meant the 
Society — those living after him, and he enjoyed the 
prospect as a selfish man could not enjoy. My friends, 
I know that it has been well said that 

"Praising what is lost 
Makes the remembrance dear." 

Yet I have no heart to add to the many eulogies 
which will be cast like wreaths of fragrant flowers 
upon the bier of our beloved associate. I will only say 
in the words of his favorite poet : 

" Know then, stranger to the fame 
Of this much-loved, much-honored name! 
(For none that knew him need he told) 
A warmer heart Death ne'er made cold." 

And now, Mr. President, allow me to offer the fol- 
lowing resolutions of respect to the memory of our 
deceased associate : 

Resolved, That the Maine Historical Society, grieving at the 
loss of its beloved associate, Israel Washburn, Jr., desires to 
express its respect for the man who has honored it by his life 
and labors. 

Resolved, That while death has removed liim from our 
fellowship it has not removed him from our memories, and 
that as a society, whose office it is to cherish the memory of 
the men of Maine who have honored the state by lives of use- 
fulness to it, we will endeavor to perpetuate his memory. 

Resolved, That the society tender, through its Secretary, to 



MAIN^E IIISTOIIK'AL SOCIETY. 11!) 

the family of our honored brother, now deceased, a copy of 
these resohitions, with our heartfelt sympathy for their great 
loss. 

Hon. George F. Talbot said : 

I have sometimes woiiLlered if an experience of my 
own is repeated in the thoughts of other men, when 
for days after the final departure from earth of a 
cherished friend all the hours seem consecrated to him, 
as to some new saint in the worship and affection of 
the heart. His spirit, in our sleeping and waking, 
seems to hover around us, l^reathing last farewells and 
invoking benedictions. Surely the consideration ought 
to take from our apprehension some of the bitterness 
of death, that there will be a time — perhai)s a very 
brief time — when in the large or small circle of those 
who have known us, all our serious faidts wdll Ijc for- 
given, our limited gifts and virtues will Ije generously 
exaggerated, and our poor half efforts to be or to do 
something useful or good will be looked upon with an 
affectionate admiration and over-kind appreciation. 

Ever since the. to me, sudden demise of our late es- 
teemed and distinguished associate. Israel Washburn, 
Jr., I have l)een passing again through this now sadly 
frequent experience. Among those slim hopes — sink- 
ing under our tread — which we put together, as it 



120 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN. JR. 

were, into a raft, bound together by our instincts and 
our desires, and upon them try to ferry across the 
dark, all-surrounding ocean of death to the solid con- 
tinents of an eternal life, I know of none more valid 
than this distinct consciousness at the same time in 
the minds of many friends of the presence of our dead 
friend, with whom we seem to be interchanging speech- 
less confidences, with a frankness and affection which 
the formalities, the levities and the jealousies of our 
actual intercourse had made impossible. 

"0 hearts that never cease to yearn ! 

brimming tears that ne'er are dried ! 
The dead, though they depart, return 
As tliough they had not died." 

In this interval, consecrated to the memory of a 
newly emancipated soul, I have found it almost impos- 
sible to connect him with the idea of death. Thinking 
of this impulsive, fresh-hearted man, like John Pier- 
pont, lifting the coffin lid to look at the fair, sunsliiny 
head of his dead l)oy, " I cannot make him dead." He 
took life with such a strong hand, he coerced other 
men and the adverse circumstance with such a vigorous 
will, that he seemed able to make his own terms with 
fate, and bid age and death themselves succumb to his 
strong purpose to live and labor. Nothing could over- 
come the cheerfulness of his hope. His latest auguries 



MAINE HISTOniCAL SOCIETT. 121 

of health uttered nothing hut confidence of recovery ; 
and the fatal and complicated maladies to which his 
phj'sical strength at last succumbed, never saddened 
his spirit or damped the ardor of his courage. 

Who of us who were honored by his friendship, can 
ever forget the cordiality of his greeting, the warmth 
of his appreciation, the uprightness and downrightness 
of his assent and dissent, the invigoration as of sun- 
shine and west winds which he Id'ought into every 
enterprise, to whicli he gave his efficient support. His 
strength of will, his persistence of purpose, his con- 
tempt of all opposition and obstacle seemed to fit him 
for a leader of men in those early ages when self-made 
kings carved their fortunes with the sword, — qualities 
superfluous in the competitions of a complicated civiliza- 
tion, wherein so much is effected l^y intrigue, by 
diplomacy and by shrewd waiting upon opportunities. 

His active and inventive spirit will l)e long missed in 
the maintenance and useful work of the Maine Historical 
Society, of which he was an enthusiastic and efficient 
member. The impulse which our late associate, John 
Alfred Poor — a man in some respects of a kindred 
energy of character — for several years had given this 
society in the study and publication of the early history 
of our state, Governor Washhuim quite kept up by the 



122 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

diligence of his researches, and the copiousness and 
value of his literary contributions. 

He had the will and faculty to work himself, and 
he knew just what historical and biographical work 
ought to be done and who inside or outside of the 
Historical Society could best do it ; so that he not 
only kept himself assiduously employed, but he stimu- 
lated others to kindred labors, suggesting themes and 
furnishing resources for investigation. Let us hope 
that his departure from our membership will not 
cripple the society in the prosecution of its historical 
work, but that an ambition has been kindled in some 
younger mind l)y his example, to prosecute his uncom- 
pleted task. 

In retiring as he did, crowned with the higliest 
honors his state could confer, from political life, Gov- 
ernor Washburn devoted his leisure to literary and 
historical pursuits. His vigorous, mainly self-educated 
mind, the large experience he had in puljlic affairs, his 
intimate acquaintance with the leading statesmen of 
our own land and with political and literary celebrities 
in our own and other countries, gave him the very 
qualifications needed for the successful writing of 
history. He had a mind capacious of facts and details, 
and he knew how to appraise and classify facts, and 
what of them constitute the substance of permanent 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 123 

history, and what, by far the greater vokune, are to l)e 
thr(iwn away as rubljisli. Kindred to this art of the 
true historian, he had an accurate discrimination and 
coukl weigh and catalogue in thinr proper order the 
puljlic characters wlio liad made up the pcrsomiel of 
modern history, though perhaps his judgment was 
sometimes affected by tlie ardor of liis sympathies or 
the strengtli of liis convictions. 

The paper in our published collection, which Governor 
Washburn prepared, upon the Northeastern Boundary 
question and its settlement, gathered from a careful 
study and an intimate kn(iwledge, is a- most valuable, 
if not a most honorable and satisfactory contril)ution 
to the diplomatic history of our country. His liio- 
graphical sketch of George Evans, completed after tlie 
infirmities of illness had weakened his physical but 
left unahated the strength of his mental powers, is a 
just and worthy triljute to one of the great orators, 
jurists and statesmen of our young state. Written in 
an impressive, and at times eloquent style, its early 
publication will Ije as line a tribute to the genius of the 
biographer, as to the fame of the character it so grace- 
fully portrays. It is to be regretted that the ancestral 
longevity, from whicli we hoped a green and prolong(xl 
old age, did not hold i:)ut to enaljle our industrious and 
well-equipped member to develop, as he would have 



124 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

done, the history of the times in which he was himself 
a conspicuous actor, and the cliai'acters of popular 
leaders whose intimacy he had enjoyed. 

I have not attempted, nor is this tlie iitting place or 
occasion, to give any accomit of Mr. Washburn's public 
services, or of his chai'acter as a statesman. We see 
already, and posterity will more distinctly see, that the 
great question of the middle of the nineteenth century 
in America was the slavery question and its summary 
and complete solution by the processes of a great war 
and a great pacitication. Mr. Washburn in Congress, 
and afterwards at the lieginning of the civil war in 
the executive chair of this state, was in positions to do 
much to shape and direct public opinion, and to hold 
the people to the stern duties and terrible sacrifices 
which the great crisis demanded. In him, above most 
of his contemporaries and associates, the ethical and 
religious element was the dominant influence which 
fixed his opinions and determined his conduct. Not 
political expediency, not what is popular, what will 
carry tlie impending election, but what is duty, what 
is right, what is the command of God, were the ques- 
tions he asked himself ; and when he found an answer, 
no sophistries, no excuses, no palliations could shake 
his resolution or break the force of his personal convic- 
tion. It was a time when everything depended upon 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 125 

the strength of the moral principle in the hearts of the 
people. Will they bear the expense of a prolonged 
war ? Will thej peril their lives and sacrifice the 
children of their pride and aft'ectioii only to do a just 
deed, to deliver from slavery a degraded and repulsive 
race ? Mr. Washburn, in the strength of his own re- 
ligious faith, believed that they would, and did not a 
little, by his fervor and steadfastness, to nerve them to 
the sacrifice. But I cannot here enter even upon the 
glorious and sulilime history of which every American 
heart is proud. History, that never forgets what is 
heroic and nol)le, will remember and perpetuate the 
story of it, and among the brave and right-thinking- 
men whose courage and clear moral perceptions saved 
this great nation from an unworthy compromise with 
a false and dangerous form of civilization, that ottered 
us peace and union with dishonor, will remember with 
honor and gratitude our own faithful and efficient 
patriot and War Governor. 

Hon. Sidney Perham said : 

In the death of Israel Washburn, Jr., tlie Maine 
Historical Society has suft'ered a great loss, and. as 
individuals, we are called to mourn the absence of one 
of our most distino-uished and useful members. It is 



12G TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

therefore fitting that, in this jiublic manner, we place 
on record the tribute of our respect for his memory. 

It was my good fortune to have some acquaintance 
with tlie father and mother of Mr. Washburn. They 
were eminently worthy to be the parents of a family 
so distinguished as theirs has been. The father was a 
gentleman of the old school, possessing good common 
sense, strict integrity and an unusual fund of general 
information. The mother represented tlie best type of 
the New England woman. She possessed energy, 
determination and courage that would not waver in the 
presence of any obstacle, however formidable. These 
qualities she transmitted to her sons ; and with the 
practical common sense and solid merits inherited from 
the father, we find, in part at least, the secret of their 
remarkable success. 

I recall, with pleasure, a few hours sjient with Mr. 
and Mrs. Washl^urn at the old family mansion in 
Livermore, when three of the sons were members of 
Congress. In answer to my inquiry as to whether she 
had any methods, unknown to other mothers, by which 
she had sent her sons out into the world with the 
possibilities of such remarkable success, Mrs. Washburn 
indulged in some exceedingly interesting reminiscences 
of their early struggles against what she called very 
limited means, to feed, clothe and educate their chil- 



MAINE IIISTORICAT. SOCIKTV. 127 

(Iren, and licr constant endeavor to impress upon their 
minds such moral and religious principles as she deemed 
essential to any success worth achieving. 

Israel, whose life and character we commemorate 
to-night, was the eldest of the family, and his early 
opportunities for education were limited. But what he 
lacked in this respect was more than made up by his 
intense love for learning, and the enthusiasm with 
which he improved every opportunity for mental 
development, so tliat he Ijecame one of the best edu- 
cated men among us, and a conspicuous example to all 
young men who are obliged to struggle against adverse 
circumstances. 

As a lawyer, Mr. Wash1)urn took high rank ; as a 
memljer of Congress and as Governor of the State in 
its most trying emergency, as an officer for many years 
in an important executive department of the national 
government, he stood in the front rank among his 
peers, having few, if any, superiors. 

In this Society, in the management of the Maine 
General Hospital, in the business, educational, moral 
and religious institutions with which he was connected, 
lie lield a position no less conspicuous. Through his 
.speech and pen, the liberal contribution of his means 
and his earnest devotion to these interests, he won the 
hearts of all with whom he was associated, and his 



128 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

death, has left many vacancies which will be difficult 
to fill. 

He was a man of broad views. One of his eulogists 
has truly said, " His whole nature was run in a large 
mould." He was not content with a superficial exam- 
ination of a subject, but explored its length and breadth 
and depth. His convictions were deep and strong, and 
he followed them with a faith and enthusiasm that 
never faltered. To these qualities he added extensive 
reading and liberal culture. He had great tact and 
ability in marshaling facts and arguments in support 
of his views. His public addresses were characterized 
by intense enthusiasm and great power. He was a 
brilliant conversationalist, and was always the life of 
any party of friends he chanced to meet. 

His faith iir God as the loving Father, solicitous for 
the welfare of his children, and in the final triumph of 
good over evil, always unwavering, seemed to strengthen 
with his years ; and no one could listen to his earnest 
words, in his public efforts or private conversation, as 
he expressed the deep convictions of his soul on these 
and kindred subjects, without feeling himself raised to 
a higher plane of spiritual existence. 

To enjoy the acquaintance and share the friendship 
of such a man has been the rare privilege of many and 
will be remembered with pleasure. 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 12'J 

To him there is no death in the common acceptation 
of that term. It is but the unfolding of a spirit, ah-eady 
far advanced, into the more congenial activities and 
greater glories of the higher life, while his example 
and achievements remain as an ever-living inspiration 
to those who are left behind. 

Hon. Joseph Williamson said : 

It is not my purpose, after the eloquent remarks 
which have l»een made by my associates, to indulge in 
an'S' eulugy upon Governor "Washburn. It is simply 
my province to call the attention of the Society to some 
memorials which he erected during liis useful and 
honored life an<l with this in view. I will read to the 
Society a list of the puljlished works of Governor 
Washl:)urn : 

1849, 

Charles Lamb. Uuiversalist l^)uarterly Preview, Vol. VI, 
p. 90, January, 1849. 

Walter Savage Laiidor. Uuiversalist Quarterly Iteview. 
Vol. VI, p. 238, July, 1849. 

18.52. 

Plau for Shorteuiug the Transit between New York and 
London. Speech delivered in the House of Representatives, 
Washington, March 10, 18-52. 

Compromise as a National Party Test. A speech delivered 
in the House of Representatives, Washington, May 24, 1852. 



130 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

1854. 

The Sandwich Islands. A speech delivered in the House of 
Representatives, Washiugton, January 4, 1854. 8vo. pp. 7. 

Speech on the Bill to organize Territorial Governments in 
Nebraska and Kansas. Delivered in the House of Eepresenta- 
tives, April 7, 1854. Washington, 1854. 8vo. pp. 16. 

1855. 
Speech on the President's Message, vetoing the French 
Spoliation Bill. Delivered in the House of Eepresentatives, 
February 26, 1855. 8vo. jjp. 8. 

1856. 

Kansas Contested Election. Speech delivered in the House 
of Representatives, Washington, March 14, 1856. 

Politics of the Country. Speech delivered in the House of 
Eepresentatives, Washington, June 21, 1856. 

The Slavery Question. Speech delivered in the House of 
Representatives, Washington, December 10, 1856. 

1858. 

Modern Civilization. Universalist Quarterly Review. Vol. 
XIV, p. 5, January, 1858. 

Kansas and the Lecompton Constitution. Speech delivered 
in the House of Representatives, Washington, January 7, 1858. 
Washington, 1858. 8vo. pp. 8. 

1859. 
The Republican Party. Speech delivered in the House of 
Representatives, Washington, January 10, 1859. 

1860. 
The Dred Scott Decision. Speech delivered in House of 
Representatives, Washington, May 19, 1860. 

1861. 
Address to the Legislature of the State of Maine, January 3, 
1861. 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 131 

Address to the Legislature and Executive Council of the 
State of Maine, February 22, 1861. 

Address to the Legislature of the State of Maine, April 22, 

1861. 

1862. 

Address to the Legislature of the State of Maine, January 

2, 1862. 

1864 

The Logic and End of the Rebellion. Universalist Quarterly 

Review, Vol. XXI, (Vol. I, new series,) p. 5, January, 1864. 

1868. 
Dr. Gamaliel Bailey. Universalist Quarterly Review, Vol. 
XXV, (Vol. V, new series,) p. 298, July, 1868. 

1869. 

Power and Duty of Congress in respect to Suffrage. Univer- 
salist Quarterly Review, Vol. XXVI, (Vol. VI, new series,) 
p. 45, January, 1869. 

Publi-shed in separate form, Boston, 1869. 8vo. pp. 21. 

1873. 
From the Northwest to the Sea. Remarks before the Board 
of Trade, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 7, 1873. 8vo. pp. 11. 

1874. 

Address at the Dedication of the Soldiers' Monument, at 
Cherrylield, July 4, 1874. Portland, 1874. 8vo. pp. 43. 

Notes, Historical, Descriptive and Personal, of Livermore, 
in Androscoggin (formerly in Oxford) County, Maine. Port- 
land, 1874. 8vo. pp. 169. 

Address at the Centennial Celebration at Oldtowu, Maine, 
1874. Portland, 1874. 8vo. pp. 168. 

1876. 
The Proprietors of the Sudbury-Canada Crant, 1741. New 
England Historical and (genealogical Register, Vol. XXX, 
p. 192, April, 1876. 



132 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

1877. 

Education — Secular and Compulsory ; with .some reference 

to recent English Legislation and opinion. Universalist 

Quarterly Eeview, Vol. XXXIV, (Vol. XIV, new series,) p. 59, 

January, 1877. 

1878. 

Memoir of Ether Shepley, LL. D. Eead before the Maine 

Historical Society at Portland, March 14, 1878. Published in 

Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 409, 1881. 

1879. 

The North-Eastern Boundary. Eead before the Maine His- 
torical Society, at Portland, May 15, 1879. Published in 
Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 1, 1881. 

The Same. Eeprinted from Collections of the Maine His- 
torical Society, Portland, 1881. 8vo. pp. 106. 

UKI'UBLISIIEIl. 

Address at Bangor, July 4, 1843. 
Address at Oldtown, July 4, 1858. 
Address at Portland, July 4, 1862. 
Address at Portland, July 4, 1865. 
Address on Peace, at Portland, 1874. 
Address on Laws of Success, at Orono, 1875. 
Addi'ess on Walter Savage Landor, 1877. 
Address on Eobert Burns, 1877. 

Rev. H. S. Burrage said: 

One remark in Mr. Talbot's excellent address recalls 
an evening which I spent with Governor Washburn 
about a year ago. I refer to the regret expressed ])y 
Mr. Talbot, that our late honored associate did not live 
to sketch the scones in which he was a conspicuous 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 133 

actor, and the characters of popiUar leaders whose 
intimacy he had enjoyed. As an iUustration of this 
remark, may I say that in the course of our conversa- 
tion, during the evening to which I have referred. 
Governor Washljurn gave me one of these sketches. 

Lot me state a few facts : In Septemlxn-, 1862, the 
Governors of all the New England States had a con- 
ference in Providence, R. I. Ostensildy they were 
there to be present at the Commencement of Brown 
Universit}-, which occurred that year, Septemljcr 3d. 
I remember well — having entered the service in a 
Massachusetts regiment — that ni}- regiment, the 3Gth 
Massachusetts Volunteers, left the state without re- 
ceiving, as was the custom, the benediction of its Gov- 
ernor. We left Worcester September 2d, in the after- 
noon, went liy cars to Boston, and eml)arking on the 
steamer ^lerrimac, where we found the 20th Maine, we 
sailed that night for Washington. We lost Governor 
Andrew's parting Avords on account of this conference 
at Pi'ovidence. When I came, at the close of the 
rebellion, to prepare the " History of Brown University 
in the Civil War," it occurred to me that it would be 
fitting to have an opening chapter on the relation of 
the University to the rebellion. In preparing that 
chapter I referred to this conference of the Governors 



134 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

of New England in connection with the Commence- 
ment in 18(J2. 

In this way tliis conference became fixed in my 
mind, and at the interview with Governor Washburn, 
to which 1 liavc called attention, 1 asked him in 
reference to it. You can Avell imagine how vividly and 
graphically he at once sketched the scene. It was at 
the suggestion of President Lincoln, he said, that the 
Governors met in Providence, and they selected that 
occasion in order that the conference might not excite 
public attention. Then he gave a report of the con- 
ference. As I listened to Mr. Talbot's words this 
evening, and recalled that report, I wished that we 
liad on paper, for our collections, what Governor 
Washburn so graphically sketched for me in that 
memorable conversation. It would be an interesting 
contribution to the already voluminous history of the 
Civil War. 

It was my fortune to go to Governor Washljurn's 
house, and to have a half-hours conversation with him 
on the morning of the day before he left for Phila- 
delphia. I did not know when I called tliat it was his 
purpose to take this journey ; but he met me in the 
same cordial, cheery manner as ever, and what was 
characteristic of him, not a word dropped from his lips 
that the occasion of this journey was his own state of 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. lo5 

health ; but he gave me to understand that other con- 
siderations called him to Philadelphia, so that I went 
out from his presence little thinking that it was for 
the last time. Tidings soon came of his weakened 
condition, and then the sudden announcement that he 
liad finished his course and entered into rest. Brethren 
of the Historical Society, we do well to honor his 
memory here to-night, and we sliall he happy if, in 
this review of his useful life and eminent services, we 
can catch somewhat of his noble, generous spirit. 

Mr. Edward II. El well said : 

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, — I had no ex- 
pectation of speaking here to-night. Others are ap- 
pointed to that duty, who are I:)etter able t(.) perform it 
than myself. I have made no preparation to s})eak. 
Imt sir, no preparation is necessary for one who knew 
him to pay a tril)ute of respect, and love and admira- 
tion to the character of Israel Washburn, Jr. I cannot 
speak of a long acquaintance with him as many gentle- 
men here can, but I have watched his course from an 
early period in his life. I have watched his course 
through Congress, and admired the manner in which 
he stood up for the great principles he advocated. I 
remember particularly on one occasion, in one of those 



136 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASIIBURX, JR. 

great crises, when all eyes were turned to the action of 
Congress, and especially to the action of our own dele- 
gation, that when they came liorae to us at the close 
of their labors, the delegation came in a body to this 
city. A meeting of the citizens was held to hear some 
account of their doings, and we all flocked to Lancaster 
Hall to listen to them. The whole delegation was 
there, l)ut he was the leader among them, and liis 
sj)eech was the great and soul-stirring speech of that 
occasion. 

I need not refer to his services as Chief Magistrate 
of this state ; these are known to all. My acquaint- 
ance with Governor Washburn extends over a period 
of about ten years. During the last five years of his 
life, I was accustomed to meet him socially, and occa- 
sionall}^ upon some matters of business, and I early 
learned to note certain points of character which were 
very strongly marked in him, and one was the intense 
earnestness and vitality which gave him very great 
force. Whenever he had occasion to speak for the 
right or to denounce a wi'ong, he did it with a power 
and vehemence and aggressiveness which carried every- 
thing before him. That was a strong point in his 
character, and yet there was no bitterness in him. 

Another mark of his character was his geniality, his 
lieartiness, his whole souledness, his readiness to meet 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. lo7 

even" man. It did not require a long acquaintance to 
become acquainted witli him. He met every man 
more than half way, greeting him with hi.s whole soul, 
and every man felt acquainted with him at once, and 
always. He was a man to love and to cling to in every 
emergency. 

Another mark of liis mental powers whicli struck 
me, was his great ability, the gi'asp of his mind, and 
his readiness for action. I remember on one occasion 
of hearing liim after he had paid a visit to the great 
Northwest, and spent a little time there, becoming ac- 
cpiainted with its resources in the region of the Red 
river and the great city of Winnipeg, .sit down and 
speak for an hour without a note or scratch, giving 
details of Idstory, giving statistics and going into all 
the minutite of that great country, its progress, its op- 
portunity, and also how in the future time it was to 
l)e worked out, and doing it without hesitation, going 
on with his stream of information, carr^'ing his audience 
with him. I have always admired his entliusiasm for 
certain of our literary characters, such as Walter Scott, 
Walter Savage Landor, Charles Lamb. On all these 
characters in literature he was always ready to speak 
with great enthusiasm and love. 

I shall never forget my last interview with him. 
He was stricken on Tlianksgiving dav- I saw him on 



138 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

that day a few minutes before he was stricken with 
the disease from which he never recovered He was ill 
all the winter. There were certain matters which he 
had in cliarge in tlie interest of tliis Society, concern- 
ing wliich it was necessary that there should be com- 
munication with him, and I called upon him for that 
purpose, and although this misfortune had fallen upon 
him, he met me with the old breeziness and vitality 
Avhich seemed almost to lift him out of it, the cheer 
and hopefulness which would not seem to believe that 
anything could diminish his vitality. This went on 
for one or two interviews, but at the last interview, 
just before he left for Philadelphia, I said to him : 
" Well, Governor, how goes it ? '" He replied, " It goes 
slowly, and I am getting tired of it." There was no 
loss of hopefulness and geniality, and he went on talk- 
ing of the future and of the work he could not do 
now, but which he would do when he returned from 
Philadelphia. But a shadow had fallen upon him ; 
the brightness had gone. The great shadow had over- 
spread his countenance ; the hand of death was upon 
him ; it has taken him away from us, and to all of us 
it is an irreparable loss. 

The following communication from Hon. Albert W. 
Paine, of Bangor, was received and read by the Secre- 
tary : 



MAINE niSTORICAI, SOCIETY. 139 

B.VNGOR, May 21, 1SS3. 
To the Maine Historical Society : 

I notice in the pa])ers, tliat at the coming meeting of the 
Society it is proposed that the evening he devoted to tributes 
to the memory of the late Hon. Israel Washburn. As an 
early and life-long intimate friend and acquaintance of the 
deceased, I desire to add my tribute to those of others on that 
occasion. 

H(! was (if my age, a fellow student with me in the law, and 
came within a few weeks of myself to join the Penoliscot Bar, 
at which we both practiced until he went to Portland. The 
intimacy, tlius commenced, contiiuiiM_l till death has parted us. 
so that 1 feel that I can speak with assurance of his character 
and history. 

As a lawyer, nuv di'ceased brother had all the qualities litted 
to make him eminent in his ])rofessioii. Of unexcepttiouable 
habits, industrious and atteutive to business, he was ])eculiarly 
fitted fur his wi.rk, in whatever line he happened to select. 
Of sound judgment and discriminating mind, he was jiarticu- 
larly adapted to work of a literary and mental character, and 
most especially to that of the profession he early chose for his 
life's support. Orderly and e-\:act in his method and system 
of activity, he added largely to his other qualifications for the 
same position. He was besides a diligent student, a great 
reader, and with a retentive memory, all which helper! liim on 
largely in his life's emploj-ments. Endowed witii all tiiese 
hi'reditary anil acquire. 1 virtues, he soon took a high stand in 
liis (■hoseu professiiin and would undoubtedly have arisen tci 
great emiuon{-e in it,, had not his attention and jiractice been 
divei-teil by the public duties to which he was early ciUed. 

When chosen to the office of Itejiresentative to Congress, lie 
at onre exhibited all tiiose traits of character of which I have 
already sjioken. His knowledge of the law, then alreailv ac- 
(piired, gave him at the beginning, an advanced ]iosition in 



140 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

the House, and helped him on largely to the post to which he 
soon attained, as a valuable member and recognized power in 
its deliberations. At the same time he was not forgetful or 
unmindful of his constituency at home. Any of their number, 
whom he happened to meet at the Capitol, was sure of his at- 
tentions there, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to 
serve their wishes and administer to their curiosity and desire 
for information. Business committed to his care was most 
sure of his attention, and every member of his constituency 
felt that matters in his hands were safe. At the same time, 
he was a Eepresentative, not only of his own district and state, 
but also of the Union, and all these equally received his atten- 
tion and able support. The several Congresses in which he 
served, covered the perilous years of the nation's existence, 
previous to the war, and always found him firm and able in 
the defence and support of those great principles which lie 
at the foundation of our government. Few more able and 
ready supporters of the cause of true freedom were found in 
those years of danger on the floor of the House. But yet, 
modest and unassuming as he was, he made little effort to 
.signalize himself, and he consequently attracted little attention, 
beyond what his meritorious acts proclaimed. 

So signally were the qualities, now mentioned, recognized 
by the people, as the dangers began to thicken about the 
general government and threaten its existence, the Convention 
called to nominate a Governor, at Norombega Hall, in Bangor, 
in 1860, without apparently any previous concert, at once con- 
curred in unanimously selecting him as their candidate. The 
nomination was wholly unsought by him and entirely unex- 
pected, as he then held a seat in the House, which was not to 
be vacated until the 4th of March then next, at the end of 
President Buchanan's administration. I can well recollect his 
expressions of feeling on the occasion, as made privately to 
me at my office on the day of the nomination. He was, as it 



MAINE niSTOUICAL SOCIETY. 141 

were, overwhelmed with the thought, and, as he expressed it 
to me, he could hardly conceive of the idea of his heiiig 
Governor. He had not then had time, so to speak, to " accept 
the situation " in wliich tlie nomination placed him, and robe 
himself with the armor of a candidate, knowing, as he did, 
that a nomination by his party, in those days, was equivalent 
to an election. His triumphant election, by a majority of 
almost 20,000 votes, only showed his great popularity and the 
confidence the people liad in his patriotism and his ability. 

It is unnecessary for me to speak of the manner of his admin- 
istration and how satisfactorily and promptly lie met the 
exigencies which continually presented themselves during the 
course of the war and while he held the reins of power. A single 
incident, cou]ing under my own personal observation, at the 
very beginning of the war, may not be inappropriate, as show- 
ing how quickly and how energetically he acted when occasion 
offered or demanded. It is already a matter of history that, 
immediately after the call for 70,000 troops on the 15th of 
April, 1861, as soon as the news reached Bangor, two of our 
citizens at once drew up a paper for volunteers, and tliat within 
the week a company of such had been gathered and organized 
ready for duty. As yet, however, no provision had been made 
for their accommodation or "encampment." The City Council 
was called together to consult as to tlie best course to be pur- 
sued and the whole submitted to a committee. On consulta- 
tion, it was decided to place the matter before the State 
p].\ecutive. A telegraphic dispatch was accordingly at once 
sent to the Governor, briefly detailing the facts and asking for 
instructions. As quickly as the electric current could convey 
the message to the Executive Eooms, at the State Capitol, and 
bring back a reply, there came back the short, sharp order : 
" Rendezvous the troops and the State will pay." Barracks 
were at once secured and the company went " into camp." x\.s 
being probably the first official act of the Governor in lii.s 
18 



142 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

military capacity in the war, the incident is regarded worthy 
of being preserved, as showing his promptness and efficiency 
under any impending necessity. It is only an illustration of 
the character he exercised throughout his administration, com- 
pletely representing it as prompt, thoughtful, energetic and 
accurate. In all his official stations he was seldom, if ever, 
accused of mistake, never of a want of fidelity or promptness. 

Mr. Washburn was a student of no ordinary rank. As such, 
however, I always felt that he labored under a peculiar diffi- 
culty, one which is ever hard to overcome, the want of a good 
college education. For this there is hardly any substitute, and 
Bro. Washburn, I always thought, especially felt it. By diligent 
study, in after years, in a great measure he overcame the defect, 
but the lack was an incumbrance which he would gladly have 
had discharged. Few, however, accomplish so much in this 
line as he did, but it was the result of study and unremitting 
toil. His perseverance and native powers of thouglit won his 
way to distinction, as a scholar of no ordinary rank and worth. 

It was a matter of especial joy with me, that in the last rites 
which man could pay to him on earth, the interment of his re- 
mains, I was able to be present, as a witness to the ceremony. 
Seldom — indeed never — have I before been jjrivileged to witness 
so inspiring a scene. The day was lovely, almost beyond com- 
parison ; a company was in attendance that could but joy his 
soul if he could have seen it ; the place was the highest point, 
nearest Heaven in significance, on top of Mount Hope, with an 
open grave lined and surrounded by the loveliest show of ever- 
greens and flowers, all combining to render this natural exhibi- 
tion one of the richest kind. At the foot of the grave, before 
his familiar and intelligent countenance, exposed in the open 
casket, the funeral exercises were performed by the joint service 
of two clergymen, usually representing opposing and antago- 
nizing sects, orthodox and universalist, but here harmonizing in 
sweetest sentiment and deligiitful remarks. 



MAINE IIISTORICAr. SOCIETY. 143 

For one in death to be able to effect such a result, with such 
perfect unanimity of feeling and good will as was here exhibited 
by priest and people in attendance, is something to be thankful 
for, and from which good cannot but be gathereil. As the offi- 
ciating clergyman repeated with emphasis the words, " Oh, 
Grave ! where is thy victory — oh, Death ! where is thy sting ? " 
the impressive answer seemed spontaneously to come to every 
mind, silencing and subduing every grief and doubt. 

ALBERT W. PAINE. 

The following communication was received from Mr. 
W. H. Smith, of Portland : 

I heartil}- concur in all that has been so well said 
about this eminent citizen. I wish to add my testi- 
mony as a small tribute from one who knew liim well 
and admired his noble character. 

He was honest and earne.st ; his earnestness was 
based upon his sincerit3^ 

The following extract from a letter written March 

16, 1858, will give the reader a correct idea of this 

man : 

" In my opinion, the Lecompton Bill ought to be killed. It 
is right that it sliould be, and, therefore, in my philosophy it is 
expedient. As it ought to be killed, there is no weapon, cimeter 
or hand-spike that we should not use." 

That was the man. He first tried the act l)y the 
.square of truth and justice ; and becau.se it did not 
stand the test, he u.sed all honorable mcajis to defeat 



144 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

it. Hi.s enthusiasm was contagious. All who came in 
contact with him felt moved by it, for they knew he 
believed that he was right and he had the courage of 
his convictions. 

With him " nothing was settled that was wrong." 
Like Owen Lovejoy, he loved to look from the platform 
right into the eyes of the people, because he loved and 
believed in them. He loved our nation, state and city. 
Reared amid rural scenes, he never forgot the lessons 
learned by the arm-chair of his mother, the precepts of 
his honored father, or what lie gathered in the country 
school house. Training like this has produced men 
that have made the name of our state glorious. 

One of them, in these lines, has fully expressed the 
views of our lamented friend. 

" Had I this tough okl world to rule, 
Mj' cannon, sword and mallet 
Should be the dear old district school, 
God's Bible and the ballot." 

He loved nature. Raised among the hills of " Old 
Oxford " her " sweeping vales and foaming floods " were 
dear to him. The daisies, violets and roses, the rocks, 
rills and groves, caused him to have an intense love of 
freedom and its handmaid, poetry. Hence he delighted 
in Burns, who was the poet of nature and the people. 
How earnestly he would chat with one who loved this 



MAIXE IIISTOKK'AL SOCIETY. 145 

wonderful genius. " The Cotter's Saturday Night," 
"The Jolly Beggars," " Twa Dogs," ••'Tarn O'Shanter," 
" Scots, Wha Hae Wi' Wallace Bled," " Holy Willie's 
Prayer," " Is There for Honest Poverty," and " To Mary 
in Heaven," stirred his heart in the same way the victo- 
ries won l)y our boys in blue did during the war. The 
" Big ha' Bible ance his Father's Pride," was reverently 
adored by him. In it was revealed to him a God of love 
and pit}'. " To him mercy and truth had met together ; 
righteousness and peace had kissed each other." He 
aljhorred inlidelity. whetlier disguised in the robes of 
sanctity or tlic coarser garb of lilasphemy. 

His views upon religion are expressed by Burns in 
the following lines : 

"Tlie great Creator to revere, 

Must sure become the creature, 
But still the preadiiiig cant forbear, 

And even the rigid feature. 
Yet ne'er with wits profane to range 

Be comphtisance extended, 
An atheist laugh 's a poor exchange 

For Deity offended." 

He took an interest in all the movements for good, 
and every ptiblic improvement found in him a warm 
defender. Everj'thing that was good was loved b}' 
him. He believed the newspaper to be a great edu- 
cator, and stonMl Ids mind from its columns. 



146 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

Could your Society come into possession of liis scrap 
books, you would find rare treasures that he collected 
daily. Such a man must be missed. We never full}' 
estimated his ability and force of character. 

The reaper came suddenly to him. He laid asidi' 
the work that his active brain and busy hands had 
foimd to do, and left us in the days of spring, when 
the green carpet of earth was spread and the flowers 
were opening their mouths in praise of their Divine 
author. To him the flora of paradise was revealed in 
all of its glorious beauty, and he became re-united with 
those he loved and mourned on earth. That his sphere 
of usefulness has been enlarged by the change is to 
me a precious belief. We mourn his loss, but his in- 
fluence will remain, for among all her sons Maine had 
none worthier. 

I cannot close my tribute to this •'' man of worth "" 
without giving expression to my feelings Ijy using 
these words from a favorite poem that he loved : 

" Mourn, little harebells o'er the lea, 
Ye stately foxgloves fair to see. 
Ye woodbines hanging bonnilie 

In scented bowers, 
Ye roses on your thorny tree, 

The first of flowers. 
Mourn, Spring, thou darling of the year, 
Ilk cowslip cup shall kep a tear. 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 147 

Thou Simmer, while each corny spear 

Shoots up its head, 
Thy gay, green flowery tresses shear 

For liim tliat's dead." 



HON. ISRAEL WASHBURN, IR. 



From tlie Haiigor Wliig ami Courier, May 25, 1880. 

Tlic following '•Sonnet," iHililislicd in tlu' Whig anil 
Courior nearly thirty years ago, expresses the vnii\ersal 
sentiment of ailniii-ation at Mr. Wasliburn's eonrse in 
Congress during the e.\citing disenssions on tlie snliject 
of slavery. It was written Iiy Dr. Edward M. Field. 
The " reward " predicted for him in the closing line 
linds its fulfillment in a life honored hy the a])prol)a- 
tion of all idasses of people up to the time of his death, 
and the universal regret manifested at its sudden ter- 
mination : 

" All hail to thee, thou Champion of our State ! 
Thou guardian of its interests in this hour 
Of mad attempt to strengthen Slavery's power, 
And fix on Freedom's soil its curse and fate! 
Thou'rt not ashamed before the proud and great — 
None greater than thyself — to utter forth 
The free, bold language of thv native North 1 



148 TRIBUTE TO ISRAEL WASHBURN, JR. 

A language tauglit by Nature's aljjliabet, 

Its letters mountains and the rusliing streams, 

Broad bosomed lakes, and forests unexplored, 

Xbe deaf ning thunder, and the lightning's gleams 

And all that tells of Freedom seen or heard — 

This is thy language — thine, too, the reward! " 
Bangor, May, 1854. 



MEMORIAL TABLET. 

A very handsome memorial tablet has just been put up 
in the First Universalist Church of Portland, in meuior}- 
of the late Hon. Israel Washljurn, Jr. It is placed 
near the pulpit, and bears the following iuscrii)tion. 
engraved on a bi'ass plate : 

In Memoriam, 

Israel Wnshburn, Jr. 

Born June 6, 1813. Died May 12, 1883. 

Representative to the U. S. Congress. 

Governor of Maine. 

Collector of tlie Port of Portland. 

An honored and useful life. 

The tablet is of the French Gothic st^Je. cut from 
white Caen stone from Normandy, with colunnis of 
southern marble. It is five feet high by three feet two 
inches wide. The caps of the columns are natural 
flowers, and conventional bosses, lilies of the valley on 
one column, and primroses on the other. 



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